


What Are The Chances?

by Sweetopia



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Divorce, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Multi, Romance, small town AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2019-09-30 03:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17215946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetopia/pseuds/Sweetopia
Summary: When Sakura's marriage to an older man breaks down, she moves back to her home-town to rebuild her life. What are the chances that she will fall in love all over again? Modern AU. SasuSaku and other pairings.





	1. Prologue

Prologue

Sakura's p.o.v:

I sat in my car outside of the hospital and sobbed into my hands. It had been three months. Three months since my marriage had broken down. Three months since my husband had walked out of my life and I had just found out that I was losing my house.

My phone was buzzing in the passenger seat, distracting me. Dragging my hands over my face, I composed myself before answering the call.

"Hello," my voice was shaky.

"Sakura are you alright?" My Aunt Tsunade asked. "I heard about the divorce."

"Yeah," I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache beginning to blossom. I still didn't know what to say when people asked me about it. There was silence on her end of the line and I felt compelled to fill it. "He got the house."

"What!?"

"Well, he bought it," I sighed. As it turns out, being twenty-three and divorcing a man twice your age wasn't as easy as you might think. I felt the tears coming again. I was sat in my car with nowhere to go. Try as I might, I couldn't keep myself together. "I've lost everything," I sobbed.

"Oh, Sakura," my aunt consoled. "You know you're always welcome to come home."

I paused. Everything I had built over the last few years had been built with the intention of making sure I never had to go home. I had moved to a city hundreds of miles away to escape my childhood home. Not that I had an unpleasant childhood, I had just been an unhappy child. An ungrateful child, according to my parents.

"Thanks," I replied, but my voice was hollow. "I…I have to go. I have work. I'll call you after my shift."

"Sure," Tsunade sighed. I hung up the phone.

I threw my phone back onto the passenger seat, collapsing back into my seat. After several more minutes, I gathered my things and headed into work. Thankfully the hospital was so busy I barely had time to think about my own problems. By the end of my shift, I was so tired that I barely had the energy to cry anymore.

The prospect of spending the night in my car was hardly appealing, but I couldn't go home. I didn't want to see my husband, knowing that as soon as the papers we signed he wouldn't be my husband any more. Despite everything that had happened I couldn't bring myself to hate him.

I had got married in college to one of my professors, a move which caused quite the scandal at the time. I had been young and naïve, wanting a house and a husband with a steady job. I never stopped to think about him being unfaithful. Perhaps I had ignored a lot of the signs. From the very beginning, he had been secretive, staying out late and lying about where he was going. We had spent almost no time together between my work and his extra-curricular activities.

Determined not to cry again, I buckled my seatbelt and started the engine. I drove around the city for a while, my eyes burning from tiredness and tears. The sky was as dark as it had been when I'd started my twelve-hour shift at the hospital and the city was lit just as brightly. For a moment I felt my eyes close, the sound of a passing car horn jolted me awake.

I pulled my car into the nearest layby and threw up.

Sitting on the grass verge by the side of the road I stared at the passing traffic. I watched as countless pairs of headlights passed me by, each one searing their blinding light into the back of my eyes. I was tired, hungry, and cold but I had nowhere else to go. I sat there for a long time until my hands started to turn blue from the cold and my teeth started to chatter violently in my skull.

Getting back in my car, I huddled in the backseat. I pulled an old sweatshirt I kept in there over me and shut my eyes, hoping distantly that I wouldn't wake up.

Of course, I did wake up.

The blue and red lights of a police car and an officer banging on the car window woke me an hour after I had fallen asleep. Groggy, I opened the door. Sitting on the edge of the back seat I asked him what the problem was.

"Have you been drinking?" The officer asked as he leaned against the side of the door.

"No," I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly, not quite awake enough to understand what he was insinuating.

"We got a call about a female driving erratically and vomiting on the side of the road," the officer explained, taking out his notebook. "You fit the description perfectly."

"I haven't been drinking," I insisted, though I knew it had been me who had been reported.

Despite my sincerity, it was clear that the officer didn't believe me. He sighed and took a step back, asking me to get out of the car. Not wanting to cause a scene I obliged. The night had gotten even colder and I shivered, wishing I had thought to pick up my coat when I had changed at work. After performing and passing the usual roadside inebriation tests, I was still subjected to a breathalyser much to my chagrin.

"Ok, it's coming back fine," the officer reassured and I tried not to roll my eyes.

"So, can I get back to sleep now?" I asked grumpily.

Cars were slowing down as they passed, strangers gawping out the windows trying to see what was going on. I tried my hardest to ignore them. I knew that it was only a matter of time before someone I knew or worse, someone my husband knew, drove past and I would never hear the end of it regardless of my innocence.

"Do you not have a home to go to?" the officer asked, jotting down some notes.

"No," I replied stiffly. I didn't want to cry in front of a total stranger, I still had my pride.

"No relatives or?" he prompted.

"Do you really think I would be sleeping in my car if I didn't have to be?" I snapped, letting my emotions get the better of me.

"There's no need to shout, ma'am," the officer said firmly. "It's not safe to sleep in your car on the side of a busy road like this. You'll need to move along."

"Fine," I huffed, folding my arms over my chest. "Am I free to leave now?"

Within minutes I was back in my car, driving further down the road. I passed several hotels as I drove, but when I thought about the meagre amount of funds in my bank account, I kept driving. Before I knew what I was doing, I was heading out of the city.

I drove to the only place I knew. Home.

It took hours, but as the day was breaking, Konoha came into view. It had been years since I had set foot in the town. The day I left for college, to be exact.

Konoha had changed a lot in five years. I noticed things as I drove through the city that, though they had probably been there several years, were completely alien to me. It wasn't a big place; the city was really more of a large town. So, it wasn't difficult for me to find my way to my childhood home. I parked outside and waited. It was 5 am, and the street was empty. The quiet suburb which I had been raised in was still a few hours from springing to life. Now that I was there, I had the sudden urge to turn around and drive back again. I turned off the engine, shoving the keys into my pocket and continued to sit in the front seat - working up the courage to knock on the door. It took some time, but I finally got out of the car.

My legs were stiff and wobbly after driving through the night and my eyes felt gritty and sore. The damp morning air hit me as soon as I stepped out of the car, the warmth of the sunlight barely breaking through the clouds. I walked across the front yard, droplets of dew clinging to my trousers, and stood by the front door.

It took a moment before I knocked.

There was no answer when I knocked the first time, or the second, or the third. I was about to give up when the door opened and a tired looking woman with dishevelled blonde hair took in the sight of me.

"Sakura?" my aunt asked, confused.

"Hi," I smiled tightly.

"Sakura," she repeated, beginning to wake up now. "Sakura! What are you doing here?"

Before I had the chance to answer, she was pulling me through the front door. I was practically dragged through the house and into the kitchen, still without the chance to explain myself.

My aunt Tsunade had lived in my parent's house since they had died, two years ago. I hadn't gone to the funeral, not that anyone was generally surprised. My parent's and I had always had a strained relationship and it had only worsened towards the end. When I had found out about their car accident they had already been dead for a month. No one had thought to call me, and when they did Tsunade had cleaned up all the mess. I was grateful for her help - she had always been there for me. She was a kindred spirit and a constant supporter of my decisions, no matter how drastic they might be.

It felt strange to be back in my childhood home. It didn't bring me the sense of comfort which I had hoped it would. Though the décor had changed since I had lived here, my memories of the place were still the same.

I sat down at the kitchen table as my aunt busied herself making coffee all the while she was muttering to herself in surprise. When she finally set the tray down in front of me, her face was no less shocked.

"Are you alright?" were the first words to come out of her mouth.

I hesitated before I answered.

"I'm fine," I lied. No one who drives halfway across the country in the middle of the night on no sleep is actually alright. I took a sip of coffee, knowing that it wouldn't even touch the edge of how tired I was.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, still in awe that I, Sakura Haruno was sat in front of her. The prodigal daughter returned.

"I…I don't know," I admitted. I didn't know what I was doing there. I had to be back at work in two hours, in a city that was over seven hours drive away. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

"Sakura," Tsunade spoke gently as if worried she would upset me. "You know you can move home any time you like, but what about work? What about your husband?"

I sucked in a breath at the mention of my ex-husband.

"I can't go back," I replied, trying to hold back my tears. "I can't. He's ruined everything!" I felt the tears spilling over and I slammed my fist into the table, furious at myself for crying again.

Tsunade reached for my hand across the table, cradling it gently. I let out a sob, amazed that I had any tears left to cry. It hurt to cry, my tears felt as though they were burning as they rolled down my cheeks. My chest heaved and shook as I sobbed.

"I'll…I'll call work and tell them I need some time…I just need some time," I blubbered.

My aunt nodded, taking my hand and leading me to the living room and sitting me on the couch. As I cried, she wrapped me in blankets and helped me lay down. Soon enough I was crying myself to sleep on the couch. I felt my eyes growing heavier as the red-hot tears spilt down my cheeks and eventually sleep took me.

When I woke I was sore. My entire body screamed with each tiny movement – the effects of sitting in a car all night. I yawned, feeling the dryness of my throat as I did. My head was pounding. I remained in the same position I woke up in for some time, unable to find the motivation to get up.

In the kitchen, I could hear Tsunade talking. I strained my ears to hear what she was saying, but couldn't hear anything definitive. She came in soon after to check on me.

"I called the hospital," She stated, as she handed me a glass of water. I gratefully gulped it down. "They said you'd been offered leave weeks ago."

I shrugged, knowing I should have taken it. In the first few weeks after the break down of my marriage, I had been a mess. But after a while, I had managed to pull myself together enough to function, until now. I took several more gulps of water before setting the glass on the floor beside me.

"They're giving you two weeks of paid leave. If you don't go back after that they said that they're going to have to let you go," Tsunade said gravely. At that point, I was beyond caring. Everything else in my life had gone to shit, why not my career as well?

I didn't want to think anymore. All I wanted was to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think.  
> xoxo  
> Sweetopia


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura's p.o.v:

It had been almost a month since I had officially moved back to Konoha. After my all-night drive, I had spent a week moping on Tsunade's couch, refusing to face the turn my life had taken. When I had finally pulled myself together, it didn't take me long to quit my job and send movers to my home in Suna to pick up my belongings. I didn't want to go back to that house. I didn't want to see the for-sale sign on the lawn outside. I didn't want to speak to my ex-husband.

"Sakura do you need a hand with that box?" Tsunade asked as I hefted a box from the truck.

"No," I replied as I wobbled, trying to balance several boxes on top of each other. "I got it!"

I was surprised by myself, for the first time in a long time I felt happy. I passed by my aunt, carrying a stack three boxes high and gave her a smile. It was only going to be temporary, I had promised myself when I had agreed to move back into my childhood home. I was only going to be there until I could find somewhere to rent in town, then I would be out of there. My foot caught on the curb and I tumbled towards the pavement. Luckily, the boxes I had been carrying broke my fall. Unluckily, they contained my very expensive wedding china - only of the few things I managed to hold onto in the divorce.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I heard the shattering of thousands of dollars worth of bone china. I had skinned my knee too, and the blood was soaking into my jeans.

Tsunade hesitated as if waiting for me to burst into tears. It wouldn't have been surprising, a lot of things had been setting me off lately and the destruction of the most expensive thing I owned certainly wouldn't be the most ridiculous of them. I, too, was waiting for the hot pricking of tears in my eyes, but they never came. I pushed myself back to my feet, kicking one of the boxes. The broken plates inside clinked noisily together. Frowning I picked up the box and threw it back to the floor, almost enjoying the sound as the plate broke into even smaller pieces.

"Sakura..." Tsunade called out, I could almost sense the smile in her voice. She knew what I was about to do before I did.

Opening the boxes I found some of the bowls and mugs had survived the fall. I picked one out and hurled it at the ground where it shattered into a thousand pieces. I couldn't help the laughter that escaped me as I reached for another.

"Sakura!" Tsunade called out. "Come on now, the neighbours..."

"Screw the neighbours," I laughed dropping a bowl to the floor. "Oops."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, giving me a rueful smile as she watched me obliterated the rest of the crockery. I laughed the whole time. It was an incredibly cathartic exercise, I realised, sad that I hadn't thought of it sooner. As the last cup shattered against the pavement, I shook my head unable to quite believe what I had just done.

"I hope he doesn't want these back," I smirked, returning to the truck to finish unloading the boxes.

* * *

 

I was sat in the solitude of my childhood bedroom, surrounded by boxes of my possessions. It reminded me of the day I had moved out, though my hello kitty wallpaper and bright pink carpet were long gone. My parents had repainted the week after I had moved away to college, a fact that had irritated me to no end - not because I liked the hello kitty wallpaper or the garish carpet but because of all the years they had forced me to live with the decorating decisions of a six-year-old me. 

Not wanting to unpack, and sick of looking at cardboard boxes, I left my bedroom and went downstairs. Tsunade had left for work an hour ago, she worked as a doctor in the neighbouring town's hospital, and wouldn't be back until morning. Feeling bored and hungry I scouted around the kitchen for something to eat but came up empty. I guiltily looked at the bare fridge and knew it was my doing, Tsunade had been doing a good job of keeping me well fed. Sighing, I closed the fridge and picked up my purse. I would have to go to the store.

Since arriving back in Konoha I had managed to avoid going into town. I hadn't really ventured further than the front door if I was being honest.

Slipping on my shoes, I hunted for my car keys and stepped out the front door. On the driveway, small chips of china glinted in the afternoon sun. I had swept the drive several times, but there were still fragments that remained no matter how hard I swept. I couldn't help but feel as though they were mocking me. The elation brought about by smashing three full boxes of expensive china was, apparently, brief and I had begun to regret my decision almost immediately afterwards. I tried not to think about how much money I had just wasted for five minutes of relief.

Ignoring the twitching curtains of the neighbours, I locked the front door and walked to my car with my head held high. I knew what they were all thinking. I might as well have had the word 'failure' tattooed on my forehead. I could practically imagine them gossiping, whispering about how unsurprising it was that I couldn't hold down a husband. My jaw twitching in annoyance as I thought about it. Shaking my head, I turned on the engine and drove out of my street and into town.

It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon, meaning most people in Konoha would be out enjoying the weather. I grimaced at the sigh of the number of people on the street, but thankful that I had yet to see anyone I knew. I slammed my car door and hurried down the street to the grocery store, trying to keep my head down - though I knew it was only a matter of time before someone spotted my pink hair. That would be a dead giveaway, despite the fact that I had cut it to my chin - a big difference from the elbow-length hair I had sported in high school - the colour was the same.

I stepped through the door to the grocery store and winced at the clanging of the bell on the door - amazed that they still had one. Regretting not driving out of town to find a supermarket, I hurried to get what I had come for and leave as quickly as possible. I was just about to round the corner of an aisle on my hunt for bagels when I heard hushed voices - the sound of gossip.

"...smashing plates in the front garden," one of the women whispered her tone incredulous. I sucked in a breath and crept closer to the corner so I could hear better.

"Well can you blame her? I heard that her husband was bringing women to their house while she was asleep in bed," another woman chimed in. I felt my cheeks grow hot. It might not have hurt to hear gossip about myself if it weren't true. I clenched my teeth resisting the urge to yell at them. The sound of tutting followed.

"Despicable! Though, if you ask me she was probably just as bad. Do you not remember how she used to act? A wonder she didn't get pregnant at sixteen," the first woman replied, her tone scandalous.

I gasped in outrage, now that certainly wasn't true. I bit my tongue straining my ears and concentrating on their conversation even harder. If that was the kind of salacious gossip being spread about me then I deserved to know about it. I was concentrating so hard, in fact, that I didn't notice someone approaching me from being.

"SAKURA!" Someone yelled, startling me. I let out a scream of alarm and spun around, knowing my cover was most certainly blown. In the next aisle, I could hear the women scrambling to get away.

I turned around to come face to face with a tall, blonde haired man. For a moment I didn't recognise him, but an image of the scrawny spiky haired teenager sprung to mind.

"Naruto?" I asked, not quite trusting myself.

"Yep, that's right!" he grinned, his blue eyes were piercing. "I heard you were back in town."

I grimaced.

"I'm sure you did," I muttered. "It's been a while, huh? How've you been?"

"Good, really good. I uh, I actually work as a police officer now. I just passed my Lieutenants exam," Naruto smiled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"That's great, Naruto!" I smiled, as a kid, Naruto had wanted nothing more than to follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer. It was nice to see him doing so well. We had been close as children, practically inseparable in middle school, but inevitably we had drifted apart through the years.

"I...I uh, I heard about the divorce," Naruto faltered as he mentioned it. I winced, of course, he had. Naruto noticed my expression and his face turned pink. "I'm sorry for bringing it up, it was stupid."

"No, no," I sighed. "It is what it is, I guess."

Naruto nodded, and we stood in awkward silence for a few moments.

I was trying to formulate an excuse in my head so that I could leave when he asked, "Do you want to come to the bar with me?"

"Naruto its four in the afternoon!" I exclaimed.

"No, I mean later!" he laughed raking a hand through his hair. I paused, unsure, it sort of sounded like he had just asked me out. Had he just asked me out? It seemed as though Naruto was having the same thought process I was because moments later he blurted out, "It's not a date! There will be other people there. Friends, my friends... I uh..."

I couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's bashful expression. He broke into a relieved smile.

"Is that a yes?"

"I'll think about it," I sighed, rolling my eyes and turning to continue my shopping.

"Meet us at eight!" Naruto called after me as I walked away.

* * *

 

I bounced nervously on the balls of my feet as I stood outside of the only bar in Konoha.

After I had returned home, the oppressive atmosphere of my childhood home had become too much for me to handle. I had caved into the idea of a night drinking instead of being stuck home alone watching reality tv with too much time to think. So I had changed my clothes, styled my hair and did my make up before heading out the door. I hadn't begun to feel nervous until about five paces from the front door of the bar, which was where I had stopped and was currently fidgeting, for the past five minutes. People were starting to give me strange looks as they passed now, noticing that I was practically jumping in place.

"C'mon, Sakura," I muttered to myself, urging my feet to move. Finally, after several long minutes of agonizing over it, I walked up the steps and opening the door to the bar.

To my relief, no one stopped and stared as I stepped through the door. In fact, nobody seemed to have noticed me at all. I let out a sigh of relief and took in my surroundings. Now, this was a place which really hadn't changed since my high school days. The dingy decor, broken pool tables in the corner and dim lighting looked as though it could have been a night four years earlier. I couldn't help but smile as I recalled the late nights spent playing pool and sneaking drinks on Friday nights.

"Hey, over here!" I heard someone shout. It took me a moment to realise they were shouting at me. I looked around the room to see Naruto sitting at a booth in the back corner of the bar. I waved back at him and made my way over. I had made it halfway across the room when the other people Naruto was with noticed me, and I noticed them.

"Oh, oh my god!" Ino Yamanaka practically leapt from her seat at the sight of me.

I braced myself for the inevitable impact as she crashed into me, throwing her arms around me in a tight hug. Ino and I had been best friends in high school, but it had been years since I had seen her. She pulled back, holding me at arm's length as she looked me up and down, taking in how much I had changed. She looked exactly the same, her long blond hair was tied up in a high ponytail, her signature style. She looked as though she could have still been on the cheerleading team, her face was as youthful as always."You've grown up!"

I laughed as she led me back to the table. I was surprised to see almost all of our high school friends group at the table, waiting expectantly for me to sit down. I perched awkwardly on the stool at the end of the table, very much feeling as though I was at a job interview.

"Hi, guys," I smiled at them all. They stared at me in awkward silence. "I'm gonna go get a drink..."

"I'll go with you," Hinata said shyly, though there was no trace of a stutter in her voice.

Hinata followed me up to the bar. I hadn't really been close to Hinata when we were at school together, but she had always been kind to me. I was thankful for her quiet company as we waited for the barman to mix our drinks. I tried my hardest to hold myself together, knowing that on returning to the table I would have to talk to people. Hinata watched me carefully as I picked up my gin and tonic, cradling it in my hands. She opened her mouth to speak but clearly thought better of it. Another minute passed as the bartender set about making Hinata's long island iced tea.

"It's good to see you," Hinata confessed, finally plucking up the courage to speak. "I know this can't have been easy for you, but I'm glad you came."

My face softened, I didn't realise the deep-set frown which had been on my face since I had walked in.

"Thank you," I replied with a small smile. "It's really good to see you too."

The bartender handed Hinata her drink and we made our way back to the table in silence.

"So, Sakura, you remember everyone," Naruto introduced, clearly determined to fill the awkward silence. "Ino, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru."

"Yeah, I remember, Naruto. I haven't been out of town that long," I replied with an embarrassed chuckle. I couldn't believe that they were all still here. Drinking in the same bar we did when we were teenagers. Had none of them moved on? Of course, I noticed we were missing a few people.

"Is this all of us?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Sasuke is coming later," Ino waved her hand in dismissal. I felt my heart skip a beat. Sasuke. Way back in the day, I had had the biggest crush on Sasuke Uchiha.

The conversation began flowing, slowly but surely after that. To my relief, my old friends seem to feel too awkward to ask me about my divorce. I managed to get away with asking the questions rather than answering them. I was beginning to get caught up on everyone's lives, what they had all done since I ran away to Suna. Ino had opened a flower shop in the main square and was doing rather well for herself from what I could tell. Hinata, well, Hinata was rich and would never have to work a day in her life, but she was running several charitable causes in town hand had become quite the socialite. A stark contrast from the girl I knew before. Her cousin Neji had become a small-time lawyer for the people of Konoha and though it didn't make much money, it didn't matter because he had all that family money to fall back on. Tenten had been the most obvious, she had been working at the local gym since our senior year and had never left, but progressed to become a personal trainer. Shikamaru, surprisingly was not unemployed as I would have expected from someone as lazy as he was. He had just returned from a research fellowship in the Shikkotsu Forest.

"So, what do you do? You're still at med school?" Tenten asked. It was the closest anyone had come to a personal question directed at me all night. At least it wasn't one which I was ashamed to answer.

"I actually graduated. I'm fully qualified now," I replied with a smile.

It was one of my proudest achievements. I was the youngest ever qualified doctor in the country. It had taken relentless effort and, in part, marring an already prominent doctor, but I had made it.

"I'm actually going to open a general practice here in Konoha," I confessed. I was surprised at myself for saying it out loud, up until that point it had only been a half-formed idea in the back of my mind.

The group stared back in stunned silence.

"What?"

"Sakura, that's an amazing idea!" Naruto pounded his fist on the table in excitement. The group chorused their agreement. I couldn't help the smile that lit up my face.

"What's an amazing idea?" a voice from behind me made me freeze on the spot. I knew that voice anywhere. Sasuke Uchiha. For a moment, I felt too nervous to turn around.

"Sasuke!" Naruto grinned. "Sakura's back!"

Sasuke dragged a chair up to the end of the table and I scooched my stool closer to Naruto to make room for him. We locked eyes briefly and I saw the flash of recognition hit him. He nodded hello and I gave him an awkward smile in return.

He looked good. He looked grown up. As I took in his sharp suit, I wondered what he was doing now.

"Sakura was just telling us that she's going to open a doctors surgery here in Konoha," Tenten restarted the conversation, glossing over the interruption.

"Don't you have to be a qualified doctor to do that?" Sasuke asked, taking a sip of his beer. I tried not to take it as an insult, almost everyone was surprised to find out I was qualified and practising at twenty-three, but I couldn't help but read into his tone.

"I am fully qualified," I stated, trying to keep the hostile edge out of my voice.

Sasuke nodded in response. I sighed, some things really don't change.

"So why are you dressed so fancy?" Ino asked Sasuke.

I wasn't sure, but I thought I could detect a hint of flirtiness in her voice. After all these years was she still holding a torch for Sasuke?

Ino and Sasuke had dated briefly in our junior year of high school, but it was over almost before it had begun and though they remained friends, Ino had been harbouring feelings for him long afterwards. I remembered the long conversations we would have on the phone about it. I felt my cheeks heat up, I had never told her about my feelings for Sasuke because I hadn't wanted to upset her. By the time I had moved off to college, I had pretty much forgotten all about him and then, of course, I got married.

"Hn, I came straight from work," Sasuke replied sounding tired. Not surprising if he had only just finished working at 10 pm. "I had a meeting."

"Oh, so what do you do?" I asked curiously. What did Sasuke Uchiha do that meant he would have to wear suits and attend late night meetings?

"He's a lawyer," Ino rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" Neji protested at Ino's tone.

"Yeah, ok, but you're a prosecutor Neji. You put the bad guys away. Sasuke does everything he can to get them off," Ino defended. Neji, mollified, backed down and sipped on his drink.

Of course, I thought. I had forgotten about Sasuke's family's law firm. Though they worked out of a bigger city an hour or so Konoha, I guessed that Sasuke made the commute every day. Even so, I was amazed that Sasuke had got his act together enough to become a lawyer.

"Ah, a defence lawyer," I smiled knowingly.

Sasuke's serious attitude and smarmy personality actually suited his career I supposed.

I took a sip of my drink and let the conversation carry on without me. I became very aware that this was the longest amount of human contact I had had for months. It felt strangely good, I had almost forgotten what it was like to have friends. In Suna I felt isolated, the only thing I did was work and fight with my husband, but here I was slotting back into place nicely - much to my dismay.

* * *

 

**Sweetopia: Hope you liked this! I'm back at Uni now, but I will try to update all my stories as fast as possible. PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you all.**

**xoxox**

R&R


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello?" I answered after I had picked my mobile up from the mess of papers on my desk. "Oh, hi, Hinata"

I wedged my phone into the crook of my shoulder freeing my hands to shove papers into my purse. I was late, again.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm late," I sighed, hurrying out of my bedroom and down the stairs. Slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my car keys. "I'm on my way, can you please stall the realtor? I promise I'll be five minutes!"

For the past few weeks, Hinata had been assisting me in setting up my own general practice. She had been surprisingly helpful. With her connections across the town, she had managed to talk the bank into loaning me £100,000 dollars as well as securing funding from the local mayor's office. We were currently in the middle of looking for an office - a task which, with the limited real estate options in Konoha, was proving much more difficult than I had expected.

I hung up the phone and shoved it into my purse before climbing into my car. Part of Konoha's small-town charm was that it never took more than twenty minutes to get where you needed to go. From Tsunade's house to the office was only an eight-minute trip in heavy traffic. I pulled up onto the curb outside the office, practically falling out of the car in my haste to get inside. Hinata and the realtor were waiting impatiently inside. I smoothed my wrinkled shirt, hoping that I didn't look too dishevelled.

"Hello, sorry I'm late," I smiled, holding out my hand to the realtor and trying to ignore the disapproving look Hinata was giving me. Hinata was always so poised, her clothing immaculate, next to her I looked like a crumpled mess. "So this is the place?"

"Take a look around before you make any decisions, Sakura," Hinata advised wisely. I nodded, my chest heaving with the effort of catching my breath after my rush to get there.

This was the eighth place I had looked at, but Hinata had assured me this was the one. As I looked around the small rooms I couldn't say that I saw where she was coming from. The realtor, sensing my clear reluctance, tried her best to talk the place up. I glanced back at my friend and wondered, as I viewed the mould spackled wall and the decaying reception desk if she had completely lost her mind.

"I think I've seen enough," I sighed halting the realtor mid schpeel.

"Oh, alright..." She trailed off. "Do you not want to see the apartment upstairs?"

I halted, frowning. "There's an apartment? An attached apartment?"

I glanced at Hinata's smug face. She had known that this would tempt me. As much as I liked my Aunt I really had no intention of living with her forever, but the financial strain of being unemployed and trying to start up my own practice was rather limiting my living options. I frowned, looking around the office. There was space here if I tore a few walls down, and I could clean up the mould.

"I'll take a look," I caved. Ever quiet, Hinata nodded to the realtor who led us up the stairs.

* * *

 

"I cannot believe I just signed the lease for that hellhole!" I groaned, mortified.

Hinata and I were sat in a cafe across the road. The excitement of my biggest life decision thus far had worn off shockingly quickly. I had been so enthused by the cheap rent, the promise of a renovation and the adjoining apartment that I had let Hinata cajole me into signing the lease there and then.

"Relax, Sakura," Hinata waver her hand dismissively, pausing briefly from the email that she was composing. "This is a good step! Once the contractors have renovated the place we can have the practice up and running in no time."

"I wanted somewhere I could start right away! I don't have a job, how am I meant to survive until then? I have no money," I grumbled, trying not to think about the mountain of bills piling up on my desk.

My phone buzzed in my purse and I ignored it, too deep in buyers regret to feel like talking to anyone. Hinata watched me carefully across the table, of course she couldn't understand my predicament, she had money. In my head, I was busy calculating the contractor's costs and bills. My phone stopped buzzing for a moment before resuming. This continued for several minutes.

"Ugh," I muttered. I answered without checking who was calling. "Hello?"

"Sakura, it's me," I froze at the sound of the voice on the other end of the line. "Don't hang up."

"I..." I stumbled over my words. "I don't want to speak to you."

Hinata looked up from her tablet, pausing her insistent typing, clearly curious about who I was on the phone with. I locked eyes with her, silently pleading for help. My face felt numb.

"Sakura, please, just..." My husband sighed, his voice was tired and frustrated. I felt the tears pricking at my eyes and I fought to hold them back. "It's about the divorce papers."

"Are you okay?" Hinata whispered. I shook my head.

"Are you still there? Sakura?"

"Yeah, I'm still here," I replied stiffly. "I've been busy. I haven't had the chance to look them over yet. I'll do it soon."

"Soon isn't good enough," He replied, the anger in his voice was rising. He had sent me the papers two weeks ago, it wasn't as though I was refusing to sign them I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. "There are a lot of other assets we need to divide before I sell the house. I've also noticed that you took out a loan recently-"

I hung up the phone, practically slamming it down onto the table with a loud thud. The sound brought the crowded cafe to a startled silence. People shifted in their seats, turning towards our table. I was too upset to care.

"I have to go," I blurted out, grabbing my purse and phone. I practically sprinted out of the cafe leaving a bewildered looking Hinata to hurry out after me.

"Sakura, wait!" My friend called after me.

I slowed down, seeing that I might have overreacted. Waiting at the corner of the street, I let her catch up to me. Once Hinata saw I had stopped, she slowed her pace to a fast walk. Her expression was concerned, and I couldn't blame her considering the scene I had just made.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Hinata asked as she approached.

I sighed and started walking towards my car, much slower this time allowing Hinata to fall into step beside me.

"That was my husband," I answered as we walked. "He's pushing me to sign the divorce papers and he was asking questions about the bank loan. I didn't think that would have anything to do with him. How does he even know about that loan? I took it out in my name it's got nothing to do with him!" I ranted, feeling anger welling up inside me.

We walked down the street side by side as I continued my ranting, each word fueling the fire which was burning away inside of me. Hinta listened patiently, occasionally pulling out her tablet and typing, but always listening. She nodded when needed, but remained absolutely silence until we got to the car and I summed up my tirade with a deep sigh. Pulling out my keys I unlocked the door.

"Do you want a ride?" I asked.

"I think you should speak to a lawyer," She replied, ignoring my offer.

"What?"

"About the divorce papers, and your husband's interest in your loan," She stated. I was surprised by how direct she was being. When I had known her as a teenager she would never have been so outspoken. She was right, of course.

"I can't afford a lawyer," I pinched the bridge of my nose, the pressures of my financial situation seemed as though they were going to crush me. I opened the car door. "Are you sure you don't want a ride?"

Hinata paused, I felt incredibly self-conscious as she looked over me, needling me with a critical stare.

"You can take me to Neji's office," she said suddenly, looking triumphant.

I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly why she was making me take her there. I got in the car, gesturing for her to get in the passenger side. Since I had moved back to town I felt closer to Hinata than anyone else. Maybe it was because she was the only other person in my small circle of friends who didn't have a day job, but Hinata and I spent more time together than I had spent with anyone. She climbed into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt, waiting expectantly for me to drive.

I let the engine idle for a moment and adjusted my mirrors, grimacing as I caught sight of my face. I hadn't been sleeping well lately and the dark circles under my eyes could attest to that fact.

There was a knock at my window, startling me. I turned to see Naruto's grinning face. Pressing my hand to my chest, feeling my pulse racing, I rolled down the window.

"Jeez Naruto," I berated, "you scared me to death."

"Afternoon ladies," he replied, ignoring me. I glance at Hinata who was blushing in the passenger seat, fiddling with her hair and shooting longing glances at him. "I noticed that you didn't have your seatbelt on Sakura and it looked like you were going to drive away."

I sighed deeply and reached for my seatbelt.

"Is that better, officer?" I asked, clipping it into place.

Naruto grinned again, ruffling his hair and leaning against the side of my car.

"Are you free tonight?" He asked, looking a little sheepish. I looked expectantly at Hinata waiting for her to answer, but she was doing the same thing to me.

"Who me?" I asked, confused.

Whenever I had run into Naruto he had always been keen to invite Hinata out, in fact, I was always an afterthought. I never took it personally, they were on the verge of romance and I didn't want to get in the way. Hinata looked equally shocked. Worried, I waited for him to answer.

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his head nervously as he spoke. "Are you?"

"Uh..." I looked at Hinata again, unsure. "Yeah...I guess, what's up?"

"I'm moving apartments, and I was wondering if you'd help me move some boxes? There's free beer and pizza in it for you."

Relieved, I laughed. Next to me, Hinata didn't seem so pleased, but she held her tongue.

"Sure," I smiled. "I'll be there, text me the time."

"Will do," he nodded, pushing himself away from the car and wandering back down the street.

Hinata turned around in her seat to watch him leave.

I pulled out of the parking space before he was out of sight. Neji's office was a ten-minute drive towards the edge of town, but there were at least five traffic lights between us and him and it seemed like I was hitting red at everyone. Hinata was quiet as we drove through town, even for her. She sat straight, her hands clutching at the tablet in her hands. I glanced over at her as we pulled up to the third red light. She was staring straight ahead, but I knew that she noticed me looking at her. Her cheeks turned pink even before I said anything.

"What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," She said. It was the first time I had heard her stutter in years. That wasn't a good sign. The lights changed to green and I hit the gas, wracking my brains as to what I had done to upset her.

"Hina, you can tell me whatever it is," I prompted, feeling more uncomfortable with every passing second of silence. "Is this about Naruto?"

Hinata's face answered my question, but she still remained silent. I sighed as the fourth stoplight came into view. I hit the gas, hoping to get there before it turned red. The light changed seconds before I reached it and I had to slam the breaks on, sending Hinata flying forwards. I winced apologetically.

"I can't believe he asked you out," Hinata exploded, blushing furiously. I was taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"What?"

"Naruto. I can't believe him!" Hinata blurted.

"Hinata, he didn't ask me out," I replied, alarmed by her angry expression and her tight grip on her tablet as if she were about to hurl it through the windshield.

"Yes, he did. He invited you to his apartment!"

"To move boxes!" I laughed nervously. "Hina, that's not a date."

The light turned green and I hurried to pull away, but the car behind me honked anyway. I fought the urge to flip them off, knowing that it wouldn't help the situation, I settled for cursing under my breath.

"If it isn't a date why didn't he invite me?" Hinata sulked, seeming a little less manic.

"He maybe didn't think it was your kind of thing," I suggested. "I won't go if it bothers you this much Hina, but I'm sure it's not what you're thinking."

I slowed down, preparing for the final set of lights to turn red and was pleasantly surprised as they remained green. The car behind me honked again, tailgating me as I until I sped up. I shook my head, trying not to lose my cool, and flicked my indicator on gritting my teeth as the car behind me did the same. I pulled into the parking lot of the law office where Neji worked.

"No, you can go...I just..." Hinata began as I pulled into a parking space.

The car which had been behind us pulled into the space at the passenger side, blocking the door, despite there being several spaces all around us. That was the last straw. Cutting Hinata off mid-sentence I threw my door open and stormed over to the passenger side. I was debating opening the door and scratching the paintwork of the fancy Mercedes, but I restrained myself. Hinata was gawping at me through the window as I slammed my fist into the door of the Mercedes.

"Hey asshole," I yelled, unable to see the driver through the incredibly tinted windows. I pounded on the door and then stood back waiting for them to get out of the car.

"Sakura!" Hinata rolled down the window. "Stop it, you're gonna get in trouble."

"No, fuck this guy," I yelled loudly, banging on the door again. "He's being a dick."

"You don't understand that's Sasu-"

"What is your problem?"

I froze at the sound of Sasuke's voice as the car door opened. I took a step back, unclenching my fist.

"Sasuke," I gasped as he climbed out of the car.

"Sakura?" He sounded equally surprised. "I should have known from the pink hair."

"I'm sorry!" I blurted, feeling embarrassed that I had let my emotions get the better of me. "You're blocking my car, Hinata can't get out."

I pointed to Hinata who waved nervously from the passenger window. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pulled the passenger door open, holding his hand between the car door and his expensive Mercedes to avoid any scratches. There was just enough room for Hinata's tiny body to squeeze out of. I crossed my arms, watching as the heiress smoothed her wrinkled dress, frowning at a stain on the hem from the dirt on my car. None the less she thanked him. Sasuke shrugged and slammed the door closed. Still feeling irritated by his driving, I shot him a glare over my shoulder.

"Are you coming in?" Hinata asked me, her eyes wide.

I could tell that she was still upset about Naruto, but she was doing a good job of hiding it in front of Sasuke.

"No, I've got to run some errands," I lied.

I knew that I was going to go home and cry in the shower for an hour before finally getting around to signing my divorce papers and from Hinata's judging glance she knew that too.

"Sakura," Hinata chided.

"I don't want to talk to a lawyer," I sighed. "I don't have any money, Hina. It's a waste of time."

Hinata rolled her eyes at me. "Fine, don't come in."

She flicked her hair over her shoulder and walked away. I watched her until she entered the office building and then turned to get back in my car. I jumped when I saw Sasuke still standing next to me. I hadn't expected him to wait around. I shuffled my feet awkwardly, it had been years since Sasuke and I had spent any amount of time together alone. When we were young I used to find his moody, sarcastic demeanour charming, but right that moment I just found it irritating.

"Bye then," I said, with a forced smile and made to get back into my car.

"Hn, Sakura," Sasuke called as I pulled my car door open.

"Yeah?"

"I'll see you later, yeah?" he asked. I frowned for a moment, surprised that he had even spoken to me.

"Are you going to Naruto's too?" I questioned, walking back around the car to talk to him.

"Hn, yeah, he roped me into helping him move weeks ago. I suggested he ask you to help too," Sasuke chuckled as though he had just pulled a cunning prank.

"Oh thank god, Hinata will be so relieved," I rubbed my forehead. Seeing Sasuke's confused look I elaborated. "She thought he was asking me on a date."

Sasuke laughed. I tried not to be offended.

"Yeah, I know right? Ridiculous," I laughed halfheartedly. "So I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah, around seven?" Sasuke called as I climbed back into my car. I nodded, pulling on my seatbelt and staring the engine.

* * *

 

I downed another glass of wine while I stared at the papers in front of me, trying to figure out if it was a joke. After my embarrassing meeting with Sasuke in the parking lot, I had driven home to sign the divorce papers. Now, I was sat furiously reading over the ridiculous demands. My phone buzzed on the table next to me, but I ignored it. I had been dodging calls all day, worried in case my husband called back.

The buzzing continued as I poured myself another glass of wine. Biting the inside of my cheek I looked up at the clock.

"Shit!" I yelled. It was already half past seven. I answered my phone immediately, seeing Naruto's caller ID flashing on the screen. "Naruto I'm so sorry!"

"Hn, it's me," Sasuke answered. I paused, pulling my phone from my ear to check the caller ID.

"Why are you using Naruto's phone?" I asked, not even waiting for an answer. "Never mind, I'm on my way over. I'll be fifteen minutes? Maybe longer, I have to walk."

I hung up before I could get a response, scrambling to get out of the door. I glanced in the mirror as I passed, shrugging at my appearance I wouldn't need to change out of sweatpants to move boxes.

The night was warm despite the fact that autumn was creeping closer and I was relieved that I didn't bring a jacket. The air smelled like jasmine as I took the shortcut through the park, but it did little to lighten my mood. Everything in life was beginning to feel so chaotic and I was in a permanent state of confusion. My head felt a little fuzzy, but I could attribute that to the bottle of wine I had consumed on an empty stomach. I jogged through the park, seeing the lights of the apartment building where Naruto lived in the distance.

Suddenly the memory of being sixteen and drunk on cheap cider, stumbling through the park to sneak home flashed into my head. I felt just as helpless now as I had back then, I sighed remembering how desperately I had wanted to get out of this town. Little did I know that I was going to be dragged back here eventually anyway.

The park let out onto the main road, a block or so away from Naruto's apartment. After the gloom of the park, the streetlights seemed blinding. I ignored the dirty looks I received from some passers-by, knowing that sweatpants and flip-flops were not the most fetching of outfits.

My phone rang in my pocket and I answered it immediately.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Sakura, are you here yet?" Naruto asked, his voice sounded worried.

"Yeah I'm ringing the buzzer now, but the door isn't opening," I tried to keep my voice low. "I'm stuck outside can you buzz me in?"

"You're not ringing my buzzer," Naruto laughed. "Are you sure you're at the right building?"

I looked up at the building, pretty sure that this was the one.

"I think so," I looked around looking for some clue. "Maybe your buzzer is broken, can you come down and get me?"

"I'll be right down."

I kept the phone to my ear even after Naruto had hung up, but I took my hand off of the buzzer. The door clicked open and I pushed my way inside immediately, shoving Naruto out of the way and slamming the door behind me.

"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked, seeing my red face and wine-stained lips.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, turning to face him. "So, upstairs?"

We walked up to his apartment in silence. When I walked through the door Sasuke was stacking boxes by the couch.

"The buzzer was broken," I started by way of explanation. Sasuke nodded and took a sip of beer. "Sorry, I'm late."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto laughed, opening a beer and holding it out to me.

"Oh, not for me thanks," I held up my hands. "I've had some wine and I don't wanna mix."

It had been a long time since Naruto, Sasuke and I had hung out together. We had been the original core of our friendship group. Sandbox friends, we had collected the others along the way. I settled into working, packing Naruto's belongings into the large brown moving boxes scattered on the floor. I was pretty sure there wasn't an organized method, as Naruto was throwing whatever was closest to him into the nearest box.

The radio masked the uncomfortable silence which hung over us for the first fifteen minutes until I stumbled across something which broke the tension.

"Hey, guys look at this!" I exclaimed, holding up a tattered photograph which I had found at the bottom of a shoebox.

"What is it?" Naruto asked. I shuffled across the floor to show him.

"It's a picture of us from middle school," I answered. Naruto scooted across the floor to look.

"Ahaha, hey Teme you gotta see this!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke rolled his eyes but leaned over the couch to see the photograph in my hands. I watched as a faint smile cracked his usually stoic expression.

In the picture, the three of us were eating a picnic in the park, in all the goofy, awkward, pubescent glory of our thirteen-year-old selves. For a while we reminisced, laughing and joking about our teen years. That night I realised that I had missed my friends more than I had cared to admit. I had isolated myself when I had moved to Suna, but now I was home it was time for me to rediscover myself and my friends.

* * *

 

It took hours, but Naruto's apartment was packed into boxes. I heaved the last box of books onto the pile ready for the movers to collect in the morning and stepped back, admiring our handy work. Putting my hands on my hips I stretched my back until I felt it click. Naruto was shovelling pizza into his face while Sasuke was sprawled on the couch using his balled up t-shirt to wipe sweat from his forehead. It was hot in here, I noted, my eyes flirting with Sasuke's exposed skin.

"Hey Naruto," I said frowning, "You sure have a lot of books," I noticed as I observed the stack of boxes, almost half of them were labelled 'books' in Naruto's childlike writing.

Sasuke chuckled and sat up, pulling t-shirt back on. He gave Naruto a sinister grin. Naruto shot him a warning look. I looked between them curiously.

"They're all porn," Sasuke announced, only to be tackled to the ground. The boys tumbled to the floor laughing.

"They are not! Sakura they're not!" Naruto yelled trying to hold Sasuke down.

"Check them Sakura, it's all porn," Sasuke claimed, struggling against his friend. I rolled my eyes, and reached into one of the boxes, pulling a book out at random.

The cover read "Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen" I held it up with a raised eyebrow.

"This one isn't porn," I laughed holding it up. "I'm impressed you've read this though Naruto, no offence."

"Open it!" Sasuke chanted, though Naruto tried his best to muffle his words with his hand.

Cautiously, I opened the book to the first page and my eyes were instantly assaulted by some very graphic imagery. I dropped the book to the floor, covering my mouth to stifle my laughter. Naruto let Sasuke go and immediately rushed to hide the book in one of the boxes. I laughed until my stomach hurt and there were tears in my eyes and it seemed it was catching because soon enough all three of us were in fits.

I laid on the wooden floor of Naruto's empty apartment, trying to catch my breath. I looked up at the ceiling, my chest shaking and my stomach aching with laughter. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed like that. Beside me, Naruto and Sasuke were in similar positions trying to maintain composure. I caught Naruto's eye and hand to clamp a hand over my mouth as a giggle erupted from my lips. I turned to my left to see Sasuke sprawled on the floor where Naruto had tackled him. We locked eyes and I felt my heart leap inexplicably. My face was red enough to hide my blushing.

Taking a deep breath, I sat up. I was going to be ok, I told myself. I could get through whatever life was going to throw my way because I had my friends.

Done with my laughing fit I scanned the room for my phone. It was on the couch by Sasuke's head. I reached out for it, leaning over him. I stretched my arm as far as I could, feeling too tired to get up, but I was still too far away. I let out a tired sigh and shuffled closer.

"Ahah!" I said triumphantly as I grabbed my phone, sliding down onto the floor to check my messages. "Oh, shit," I muttered when I checked the notifications.

"What?" Naruto inquired, propping himself up on one elbow.

My eyes scanned the missed calls list. My husband had called me eighteen times.

"My husband," I replied distantly, as I read the texts he had sent me, begging me to answer the phone. I sat up, pushing myself onto my knees.

"What about him?" Sasuke asked looking up at me.

I held up my hand to quiet them as I made the decision to call him back.

The phone rang just once before he answered.

"Hello? Sakura?"

"Yeah, it's me," I said simply. "What did you want?"

"I've been calling you all evening. Why didn't you pick up?"

I winced, I hated him when he got angry.

"I was busy," I sighed. "I was with friends."

There was silence on his end of the line. Naruto and Sasuke were listening intently. I might as well have put him on speaker phone.

"What did you want?" I repeated, trying to keep any hostility out of my voice, but I was losing my patience.

"You hung up on me earlier. I wanted to talk to you. I want you to come home, Sakura. I want to try again," he muttered. I was so shocked by what he had just said that I dropped my phone into my lap. It only took a second but I came to my senses and picked it back up.

"WHAT!?"

* * *

 

**Sweetopia: That's all for now folks! Hope you enjoyed it! I know there are typos, but I wanted to get this out and didn't proofread it so there you go. Please read and review, your support means a lot to me.**

**xoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

 

There was a static-filled silence on the end of the line as I waited, stunned, for my husband to respond. Sasuke and Naruto had sat up and were hovering curiously, mouthing words in my direction. I shook my head at them and waved them off.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked his voice just barely a whisper. I shot him a glare.

"Not now, Naruto," I hissed.

"Naruto? Who's Naruto?" My husband's voice crackled through the static. From the bad connection I guessed that he was in our bedroom, we hardly ever got service in there.

"I told you, I'm with friends," I quipped. "Before, you said…"

There was another long pause and I could feel my heart begin to race.

"Come home," he repeated. "Please."

I closed my eyes and pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the rapid beating of my heart.

"No."

"Sakura, please," he begged. "I made a mistake, I'm sorry. I know it was all my fault, and I'm going to work on it. I promise. Just please come home…"

Naruto had crept closer, crouching beside me on the couch, straining his ear to listen. Sasuke remained seated on the floor, though his serious expression told me that he could hear every word. I stood up as if to move to another room, but couldn't bring myself to move. I sat down again, still listening to my husbands pleading.

"I'm not coming back, Yamato," I stated firmly. I was impressed by the steadiness of my voice. I felt certain that I was going to cry. "I'm settled here. I'm happy."

"Come on Sakura, you've had your fun. It's time to get back to reality."

I could hear the edge in his voice, I had begun to irritate him. It was always the same when he didn't get his own way. Usually, I would have been upset, but a mixture of wine and agitation was quickly making me lose my temper.

"Oh, I've had my fun? I've had my fun?" I raised my voice, unable to contain my rage any longer. "You're the one who cheated on me, Yamato. You're the one who brought all those women back to my house and after that, I still wanted to make it work. You're the one who ended this, not me! Well, now it really is over. I'm finished. Don't bet on me signing those divorce papers either, you must think I'm a fucking idiot."

I hung up the phone before he could respond. Naruto and Sasuke were staring at me in awkward silence. Biting the inside of my cheek, I stood up and crossed over to the window and opened it. My face was burning hot and the soft summer breeze caressed my skin gently, but it wasn't enough to calm me. I walked to the fridge, aware that I was stomping my feet as I crossed the apartment, and took out a beer. Opening it on the countertop, I took several long gulps before pressing the cold bottle to my cheek. I sighed deeply.

"Uh, Sakura," Naruto said cautiously after a few moments of tense silence.

I blinked in surprise, for a moment I had forgotten that they were there. I took another, less dramatic, sip of beer and walked back over to the couch.

"Sorry about that," I muttered softly, feeling embarrassed.

"So that was your husband…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and looked over at Sasuke as if hoping he would jump in with something useful to say.

Moodily, I took another sip of beer and slumped back down onto the couch. Sasuke pushed himself up to sit beside me. I shuffled closer to Naruto to make room for him. My phone vibrated noisily on the coffee table where I had thrown it after I had hung up. We all watched it for several minutes as Yamato called me repeatedly.

"Ugh," I groaned as it continued to buzz. "I'm sorry guys."

To my surprise, Sasuke reached over and picked up my mobile. He answered before I could stop him, leaving me gesturing at him wildly.

"Hello?" Sasuke answered, his tone neutral. I grabbed his arm, shaking him violently, silently pleading him to hang up the phone. I could only imagine my husband's reaction to a man answering my phone this late at night. Sasuke rolled his eyes and waved me away.

"Sasuke, hang up! Hang up now!" I whispered, gripping his arm. Naruto just watched with his mouth agape.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke replied as he continued to ignore me.

I watched him helplessly. I could hear the muffled sound of my husband ranting on the other end of the line, I was impressed by Sasuke's cool demeanour as he listened patiently. As Yamato's ranting continued, I could see Sasuke grow more and more irritated.

I pulled away, covering my face with my hands, unable to listen.

"I'm your wife's lawyer," Sasuke said finally, his temper beginning to show. I looked at him in shock. "From now on, if you want to speak to my client about the divorce proceedings, you can call my office. Otherwise, I'd suggest you stop calling her or I'll have you brought up on harassment charges."

Sasuke ended the call and held out my phone to me.

"Oh, Sasuke!" I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck, pulling him close. For a moment he resisted, tensing at the sudden contact, before he patted my back gently. "Thank you."

I pulled back quickly, a little embarrassed. I looked up at Sasuke shyly, hoping I hadn't been completely inappropriate by throwing myself at him. Naruto was cheering, he too wrapped his arm around my shoulders in a tight hug.

"Well done, Teme!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air. "That was awesome!"

"Hn, it was nothing," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Hopefully he'll leave you alone now. He sounded like a real dick, Sakura. You sure know how to pick them."

"Tch, what's that supposed to mean!" I feigned outrage, slapping him playfully on the arm.

"Well, you haven't had the best track record," Naruto agreed.

I gasped, now the truth was coming out. All through high school, I had the sneaking suspicion they didn't like any of the guys I dated. I was grateful for the light-hearted turn the conversation had taken, so I tried to keep my mock outrage to a minimum.

"Oh yeah, like anyone you guys have dated have been great either!" I snapped back with a derisive chuckle.

We continued to tease each other for some time, back and forth while Sasuke watched on with an amused smirk. Naruto and I had always bickered, ever since we were small. People used to liken us to an old married couple, but I always thought it was what it would be like to have a brother.

It grew later and our energy was burning low. My muscles ached from lifting boxes and my eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. I glanced at my phone to check the time and was alarmed by the late hour. Yawning reflexively, I stretched and stood up. Reaching my arms above my head I stretched up onto my tiptoes, arching my back until it popped with a satisfying click.

"I should be heading home," I said sleepily.

"Yeah me too," Sasuke nodded, running a hand through his hair. "I'll give you a ride."

"Oh, I don't mind walking," I responded, patting the pockets of my sweatpants to feel for my phone. I spotted it, wedged between the couch cushions and leaned to pick it up.

Naruto was practically falling asleep, draped over the arm of the couch, one arm over his face. I nudged his leg out of the way and retrieved my phone, chuckling to myself as I watched him curl up, it was rare to see Naruto tired.

"Bye guys," he mumbled, giving us a feeble wave. "Sasuke, lock the door on your way out?"

"Sure."

Sasuke and I made our way out of Naruto's apartment. I waited as Sasuke locked the door behind us and slid the spare key back into the potted plant by the front door. I smiled at him softly as we made our way down the stairs and into the lobby. Sasuke held the door open and I ducked under his arm, out into the early morning air. It was still dark outside and the streets were dead silent. I closed my eyes and felt the summer breeze drifting through my hair.

"See you around then," I smiled, giving Sasuke a small wave as we descended the steps and onto the sidewalk.

"I'll take you home," Sasuke stated, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's fine," I declined. "It's probably really out of your way. I'll walk."

"Sakura," Sasuke said reproachfully. I rolled my eyes at him. "It's late, just let me drive you, okay?"

"Alright," I sighed. Surprised by Sasuke's protectiveness, I followed him down the street to his car.

I waited patiently for him to unlock it before I climbed into the passenger side. The luxury leather interior was just as expensive looking as the outside of the car and I marvelled at the modern accessories on the console. I had to admit that I was a little jealous, it made my car look like a rust-bucket.

In my sweatpants and bleach stained vest top, I felt rather out of place in Sasuke's expensive Mercedes. I crossed my arms self-consciously as Sasuke climbed into the drivers' seat. He looked like he belonged in this car, even in his casual clothes he looked well put together. Noticing that I was staring, I looked away, staring out of the window while Sasuke started the car.

We drove down the streets of Konoha in silence. I watched the streetlights pass and tried not to think about the mess of divorce papers I had waiting for me when I got home. Sooner or later I was going to have to face them.

Sasuke made a wrong turn, and I sat up in my seat with a frown. We continued down the street for some time before I was certain that we were heading in the wrong direction.

"Uh, Sasuke, you're going the wrong way," I commented as we headed in the opposite direction of the suburb where I lived.

"Shit, sorry," he cursed, pulling onto the curb to turn around. "I was on autopilot. This is the way to my house."

"Oh," I replied, looking down the street. It was filled with modern looking houses, which had replaced the rundown two-story apartments which had been here when I was last in this section of the town. "I didn't know you lived in Konoha. I figured you had moved further out of town."

"We're not all you, Sakura," Sasuke sighed as he reversed the car back onto the street. "I happen to like Konoha."

I wasn't sure why, but his words stung. I knew he was right. Out of all my friends I was the only one who had despised the town we had grown up in. I had always dreamed of something bigger. But something about the way he said it made my temper flicker beneath the surface. Frowning, I turned to him, watching him as he drove.

"I'm glad I'm back, you know," I blurted out.

I was surprised to find that I actually meant it. I really was glad to be back. Sasuke took his eyes briefly off the road to look at me. I bit my lip nervously and looked away, staring out of the windshield.

"I know," he said softly.

We didn't speak again for the rest of the drive and I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead. The silence in the car was awkward and despite having known Sasuke for years, I couldn't think of anything to say to him.

The drive to my house was mercifully short. Sasuke pulled the car up to the curb outside and left the engine running. Tsunade's car was back in the driveway, but the lights were out. I patted my pocket, making sure I had my keys and unbuckled my seatbelt.

"Thanks for the ride," I muttered, opening the car door. Sasuke didn't reply. I stifled a yawn and climbed out of the car. "Night, Sasuke."

"Sakura!"

I turned sharply, halfway up the driveway. Sasuke had rolled his window down to call after me. Jogging back to the car, I saw Sasuke holding something out to me. I reached out and took the small black business card from him with a puzzled frown.

"It's my business card," Sasuke explained, seeing my confused expression.

"I know what it is, Sasuke," I refrained from rolling my eyes. "I just don't get why you're giving this to me."

"You're going to need a lawyer," he shrugged.

"But…I don't have any money. I can't afford to pay you," I replied, holding the card back out to him. Sasuke reached out and closed my hand around the card, squeezing it gently. I felt my heart flutter at the gentle gesture.

"Just take it, Sakura," he sighed. "Now get inside. I want to go home."

I chucked, same old Sasuke. Waving him goodbye, I jogged up to my front door, opening it as quietly as I could manage. Sasuke waited outside until I have locked the door behind me. I watched from the front window as he drove away.

Tiredly, I crept up the stairs and to my room. After setting Sasuke's business card on my nightstand, I pulled off my clothes and slid between the sheets. I fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

 

**Sweetopia: Short and sweet! Hope you liked it. I will update again soon. Please review, I really love reading your comments and I really appreciate your support!**

**xoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

 

There was a gentle knock on my bedroom door before it opened and my aunt stepped into the room. I groaned, raising my head from the duvet which I had pulled over myself. Aunt Tsunade pushed the door open further, and moved to place a mug on my bedside table.

"You got in late last night," she said as I propped myself up on an elbow and reached for the mug. The bed shifted as she sat on the end by my feet.

"Yeah."

"Was that Sasuke Uchiha I saw dropping you off?"

I paused and took a sip of the scalding coffee. My tongue stung, but I was too tired to care.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," I avoided her question, knowing already what she was thinking. "I was helping Naruto pack up his apartment. He's moving today."

We talked a little, Tsunade trying to eke out the information from me. She had been the only person in my teenagehood who I had confessed my feelings for Sasuke to and since then any mention of him had sent her into a gossip spiral. I could see her eyes locked onto Sasuke's business card which I had left on my dresser. Her mouth opened and closed again as if she had thought better of whatever it was that she had been about to say. Instead, her lips twisted into a small satisfied smirk and she looked back to me.

"Plans for the day?"

My tired brain fumbled with the question. Did I have plans today?

"Nothing…I might go out though," I replied finally.

Once my aunt had left, I dragged myself from the comfort of my bed knowing that I would feel worse if I spent the day in bed. The ache of a wine hangover was heavy in my limbs and I winced with each movement. I would count it as an achievement if I made it down to the couch. I dressed to be comfortable, not presentable – a style choice which I seemed to have adopted with vigour since separating from my husband – and made my way downstairs. I clutched the half-empty cup of coffee in my hands as I entered the kitchen. I had left it a mess.

The divorce papers were still scattered on the table, as was an empty wine glass and several bottles of wine. With a sigh, I set about cleaning up. I took an absent swig from an almost empty wine bottle, hoping that somehow it would lift my hangover slightly. It didn't.

After removing the wine bottles and washing up the dishes in the sink I was faced, once again, with the ominous pile of divorce papers. I thought about setting them on fire in the newly cleaned sink, but once I had shoved my anger down, I gathered them all up into a file. In my pocket, my phone vibrated once. A text. This was a refreshing change from the usual slew of phone calls which had been plaguing me lately.

**Hi. Coffee?**

I frowned. The number was not recognised in my phone.

**Who is this?**

I replied, sure that it must have been a wrong number. Anyone who I cared enough to give my number would have given me theirs in return, I reasoned. The reply was almost immediate.

**Sasuke. Coffee?**

The brevity of the texts made much more sense not I knew who was sending them.

**How did you get this number? I didn't give it to you.**

**Naruto. I have a spare hour. Coffee?**

I looked at the clock, it was approaching lunch and I could do with the fresh air. My heart felt fluttery and I shook my head. Sasuke and I were old friends, there was nothing to read into two old friends having coffee. I had coffee with Hinata all the time.

**All right, fine. Where? I'll meet you.**

I waited impatiently for a response. After such a rapid exchange, the minutes stretched on achingly. I rubbed my temples, trying to soothe my headache. Ten minutes had passed and I was pretty sure that Sasuke wasn't going to respond when my phone vibrated noisily on the kitchen table.

**I'm at the bar.**

The bar? I shook my head. There were any number of cafés in Konoha, more than anything else in the whole town, yet another downside of being a small tourist town. It was very Sasuke to want to get coffee at the bar. Instead of arguing, I slipped on some shoes and grabbed my purse.

"I'm going out," I called to my aunt who was reading in the lounge.

I was almost out of the door when I thought to bring the divorce papers with me. Sasuke had said that he would look at them, maybe it wouldn't be too presumptuous of me to bring them. I dashed back into the kitchen and grabbed the file off the table before heading back out. I walked passed my car, pretty sure that I would still be over the limit to drive, and decided to walk into town instead.

Fishing some breath mints out of my purse I threw them into my mouth as I jogged up the steps to the bar. Catching sight of my reflection in the glass door, I wished I had made slightly more of an effort. Faded, and dirty, jeans and the first minimally creased sweatshirt I could find on my floor might have been fine for moping around at home, but now I felt a little underdressed.

Sasuke was sat at a small corner table by the front window. I relaxed at the sight of him in his casual clothes, he was far less intimidating now than when he wore a suit. He was slouched in one of the old armchairs, a book in one hand and coffee in the other. My heart fluttered again and I sighed frustrated by my schoolgirl reaction.

"Hey," I greeted as I strode up to him, placing my purse on the floor as I sat on the chair opposite his.

The dinginess of the bar wasn't so obvious when you were sat in front of the window, as opposed to the dark corner where our group of friends had spent most of our time here. It was a fact which would have seemed obvious, but I was still surprised by it. The summer sun was casting a warm glow over the chair where I was sat.

"Hn, you want a drink?"

Sasuke didn't even look up from his book as he spoke to me. I watched as his eyes scanned over the page quickly. He turned the page and continued as he waited for me to answer.

"Uh, yeah, but I can get it," I stumbled a little over my words, my tongue still feeling thick from the previous night. Sasuke closed his book abruptly and set it down on the small crate which was serving as a makeshift table.

"No, I got it," he got up and strode to the bar without even asking me what I would like. I sighed, typical Sasuke – even when he meant well he was still a bit of an asshole.

He returned with a plain black coffee and several packets of sugar. I accepted the drink gratefully, unsure if he had remembered how I liked my coffee or if it was just a simple guess. Setting the drink on the table, I poured two of the four sugar packets in and took a tentative sip. With nothing to stir it with the first half of the drink would be bitter and the last few sips would be unbearably sweet. I drank it anyway.

We sat in silence for a moment, and I was sure that Sasuke was about to pick up his book and start reading again when he spoke.

"You look surprisingly good."

"Excuse me?" I couldn't decide if I was going to be offended.

"For someone who drank as much as you did last night," Sasuke finished.

Ah, yes. I was offended. I rolled my eyes, not meriting his teasing with a response.

I sipped on my coffee, feeling awkward. Why had he asked me here? I hadn't stopped to think about it before, but in the awkward silence, it was all I could think about. We both seemed uncertain how to act around each other without Naruto as a buffer. Even the previous night when he had driven me home, I had been drunk and far less concerned about seeming strange.

Sasuke was watching people pass outside the window, quiet and contemplative.

"Has he contacted you anymore?" he asked suddenly.

I frowned, my brain still a little slow to understand.

"Oh, Yamato? No, I've not heard anything from him."

Sasuke nodded, a small, barely noticeable smirk creeping onto his face. He was pleased with himself for sure.

"I've brought the divorce papers with me, actually," I continued before he had the chance to interject. "I know it's a weekend and you won't want to look at them now. I just thought you could take them with you and look at them when you get the chance? Before I get angry and burn them."

I pulled the file out of my bag and held them out to him, hoping that I wasn't vastly overstepping the boundary of our friendship. Sasuke chuckled and shook his head at me. I faltered, my hand drooping, almost dropping the file from my hand.

"I don't need to see them," Sasuke replied, still shaking his head. "Your husband faxed them over to my firm last night."

"Oh," I said stupidly, unsure what exactly that meant.

"You definitely won't be signing them, Sakura. I had a few of the specialist divorce lawyers take a look at them too, he was really trying to screw you over," Sasuke explained, seeing my dumbfounded expression. "You can actually burn your copy if that would make you feel any better."

I laughed, louder than I anticipated, and had to clamp a hand over my mouth to keep it contained. It was the best news I had had in months. I resisted the urge to hug Sasuke, remembering how awkwardly that had gone down the night before. I shoved the file back into my bag, telling myself that I would, in fact, burn them later.

"Thank you so much!"

"Hn, it's nothing. You're a friend. I'm glad I could help out," Sasuke shrugged. I tried not to make him too uncomfortable with my gratitude, but I couldn't stop smiling.

"Is that why you invited me out for coffee today? To tell me that?"

"No, you're the one who brought up the divorce," Sasuke chuckled. "I just thought you might appreciate some fresh air and coffee to help with your hangover."

Before I could come back with a witty retort, the door to the bar swung open and an enthusiastic blonde strolled in, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she approached us. Ino looked fresh and well put together, even her work apron was neat and pretty. I eyed her jealousy, suddenly remembering how much of a mess I looked.

"Look at you two," Ino teased, "here on a date?"

"Ha!" I said in shock, though the sarcastic tone of my voice styled it out nicely. Sasuke rolled his eyes and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"When I heard the two of you were here alone, I just had to come and see it for myself," Ino laughed, crossing her arms and perching on the arm of Sasuke's chair. "It's rare enough to see Sasuke on his day off, but you're here too!"

I had resigned myself to the ridicule that would come from returning to my small hometown after vehemently running from it. The teasing and jokes had been coming thick and fast as I bumped into many of the people that knew me in my teenage years.

"Hn, how the fuck did you hear that we were here, Ino? It's been five minutes since we both sat down," Sasuke snapped and Ino slapped him playfully on the shoulder. I watched them interact and tried not to be envious. They had had five extra years to build on their friendship. I was the one who had bailed.

"I have my sources," Ino wiggled her eyebrows. "You should know that by now."

I watched self-consciously from the sidelines as the two of them bantered back and forth for a while. I took several gulps of my coffee and raked a hand through my hair, knowing that it wouldn't improve the messiness.

"Shouldn't you be getting back to work?" Sasuke asked.

"Probably," Ino shrugged, seemingly carefree. The benefits of being your own boss, I assumed. Sasuke stared at her intensely, as if trying to communicate something to her without having to say it out loud. "Oh alright, I'll leave. But you two better be coming to Naruto's housewarming party tonight."

"Tonight!" I cried, unsure if my hangover would have relented by then. "He's only moving today. Surely he needs more time to unpack than that."

Sasuke and Ino both eyed me with pity. It took me a moment to catch up. Just like Sasuke and I had helped him pack up his old apartment, Naruto had invited people over to help him unpack. I groaned, slumping back into my chair.

"C'mon Sakura, it'll be good fun," Ino chirped enthusiastically as she sauntered away.

Sasuke shook his head as Ino left the bar. I breathed a sigh of relief, still unused to interacting with her. Despite the fact that Ino had been my childhood friend, I felt like she had something against me. I had noticed it more prominently since I had moved back to Konoha.

"She really is something," Sasuke commented, taking a final sip of his coffee before setting it back down. I didn't respond. Noticing my silence, Sasuke stared at me expectantly. "What's wrong now?"

"I just, I just get the feeling that she doesn't like me," I admitted, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Of course she doesn't."

I wasn't prepared for Sasuke's response.

"WHAT!?"

"Of course she doesn't like you," Sasuke repeated.

"What? Why?" I stammered.

"Oh come on, you can't be that stupid Sakura – You're a doctor," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She's jealous of you."

I scoffed. Ino, jealous of me? It seemed a ridiculous idea to me, in high school she had always been the prettier one, the more popular one. I relayed this to Sasuke who was unimpressed by my reasoning.

"Yeah, Sakura. In high school. We're not in high school anymore," he dismissed. "Think about it for a second. You're probably the youngest doctor in the country, attractive, independent and you're married."

"I'm separated! That's hardly something to be jealous of," I protested, but I knew what he was saying made sense. Maybe Ino was a little jealous that her sidekick had actually gone out and achieved more than her. I felt a little guilty for being so naïve.

"Hn, you still managed to get one down the aisle, Sakura," Sasuke commented, the mischievous glint in his eyes hinted that there was a little more to the story. It was the closest I'd ever seen him come to gossiping in my whole life. I leaned forward in my seat, eager to hear what he was about to say next. "Ino's been engaged three times."

* * *

 

Sasuke and I had spent longer than a spare hour together, earlier in the day, and I had only left him to get changed. I couldn't tell where the time had gone, from what I could remember we talking about nothing and, I suppose, everything. My aunt Tsunade had been watching from the living room window as Sasuke dropped me off. She had ambushed me almost immediately after I had walked through the door.

"Two days in a row, Sakura!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.

I rolled my eyes, walking into the bathroom and turning on the light. I left the door open for her as I applied my make up, sure that she would want to continue talking.

"He's a friend," I replied. "We had coffee and caught up. I don't know what you're getting excited about."

"Oh please! You've had a crush on Sasuke for years!"

"Had. I had a crush on Sasuke. I think you're forgetting the five years I haven't actually spoken to him. Two of those years I was actually married to someone else."

I applied my makeup as quickly as I dared, I didn't want to let slip that Sasuke was circling the block a few times before I was ready to be picked up again. Fishing a clean blouse out of the ironing basket, I threw it on and dragged a brush through my hair.

Sasuke had picked me up again just five minutes after initially dropping me off. We drove to Naruto's in comfortable silence, the radio providing some much-needed background music. As we pulled up outside of Naruto's new apartment, I suddenly panicked.

"Did we need to bring a housewarming gift?"

"Hn, Sakura. No."

"But it's a housewarming party. Surely we should have brought him something?" I insisted. Years of attending more grown-up versions of housewarmings had left me with a heavy burden of guilt for all the forgotten gifts.

"Well, I'm not going to get him anything. If you want to buy him something then the store is a five-minute walk that way," Sasuke pointed behind us. I bit my lip nervously, knowing that Sasuke had been joking, but still feeling the pressure. "He's not going to care."

  
"Ok, alright," I sighed, undoing the clasp on my seatbelt and climbing out of Sasuke's car. We walked up to the front door and pressed the buzzer.

Naruto's new apartment was the ground floor of a two-story house in the middle of the town. It was much bigger and nicer than his last place. Sasuke and I waited on the doorstep, but it didn't take long for Naruto to answer.

"Hey, guys! Glad you could make it!"

"Happy housewarming," I smiled, "Sorry we…uh, I didn't get you a gift."

"Hn, yeah me neither," Sasuke shrugged at his best friend.

Naruto waved it off and dragged us inside.

* * *

 

**Sweetopia: Hope you enjoy this. Just a quick one I wrote before bed! Lemme know what you think in the reviews!**

**R &R**

**xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6

The weeks seemed to pass painfully slowly as days of doing nothing stretched on and one blurred into the next. In truth, I was finding this temporary employment difficult. I liked to be busy. I had hoped that starting up my own surgery would prove to be a demanding enough task, but with Hinata managing almost everything, there was very little for me to do other than sign whatever paper she handed me. So, when the day finally came for me to take a look around my finished offices, I was overjoyed. The night before I had starred at the ceiling of my bedroom, willing myself to sleep but being far too excited to close my eyes. At last, I was going to be able to  _do_ something. 

My alarm blared out, shocking me awake. I didn't recall when I fell asleep, but I was sure that it couldn't have been long before. Never the less, I fumbled around for my phone and disabled the alarm before I jumped out of bed. I rushed to get ready, despite having an hour before I had to meet Hinata, and found myself ready to leave with another thirty minutes to spare. I fidgeted excitedly on the sofa.

Unable to pay attention to the TV, I reached for the remote and shut it off. The house was quiet. Tsunade was working again, leaving me alone in my childhood home. I was glad that I would be moving out again. Too long spent in this house made me think about my parents - and that never did anyone any good. I waited in silence until I could no longer stand it. Ten minutes early, I grabbed my car keys and sprinted out of the house. 

My car, which was packed with all of my boxes ready to move into my new apartment, was parked a little way down the street. I hurried over to it, eager to be off. I was about to start the car when I remembered my seatbelt. Hastily I buckled myself in, knowing that it would be just my luck to die in a car accident the day that my life started going well for a change. 

Traffic in Konoha on a Tuesday morning was slow, but nothing compared to the horrific commute I used to face back in Suna. Turning on the radio, I tuned into the local station, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel along to a song from five years ago. I pulled up at a red light and wound down my window the August heat was stifling and my cars air conditioning broke several years ago. I revved the engine as the light turned amber, ready to pull away as soon as it turned green. Ignoring the disapproving glare of the driver in the car beside me, I pulled across the junction. As I pulled up to the curb outside my office, I took a deep breath. It was hard to believe how far I had come in a relatively short space of time. In a matter of months, I had left my husband, moved back to my home town, quit my job and opened my own general practice. 

I jumped at the sound of tapping on my window. Hinata was waving at me excitedly through the glass, a delighted smiled on her face. Pressed my hand to my chest I laughed. Climbing out of the car, I joined her on the sidewalk. 

"Here's the woman of the hour!" Hinata greeted, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly. 

"Me? You're the one who's put all the work in, Hina. Thank you so much, I-"

"Don't thank me yet! You haven't even looked!" 

I let her pulled me towards the building. She handed me a swipe card and motioned for me to use it to open the door. I rolled my eyes but did as she instructed. Hinata insisted I be the first one to do anything, as we entered the building. 

"Okay, close your eyes." 

Hinata lead me by the hand through the final set of doors and into the office. I was tempted to peek but didn't want to ruin the surprise. The room smelled like fresh paint and air freshener. I took a deep breath. Much better than the damp, rotting smell the space had the last time I had been here. I was nervous, Hinata had completely taken over the project, I hadn't stepped foot in the place since I signed the lease. 

"Open!" 

I opened my eyes. I gasped involuntarily, dropping Hinata's hand and putting it to my mouth in shock. Hinata's excited expression faltered as my eyes began to well up. I struggled to contain myself and tear streaked down my cheek. 

"Oh, Sakura! Don't cry! Whatever's wrong I'll have it changed! I knew I should have brought you here before!" 

"It's perfect!" I blurted. Grabbing my friend and holding her close to me. 

It truly was perfect. I couldn't believe the transformation. It didn't look like the same building. I marvelled at the new open plan layout, all the tiny, cramped rooms had been knocked through to create a spacious reception and waiting room. On the far side, the door to my office held a shining gold plaque with my name on. I couldn't remember ever feeling so happy. 

"This is the greatest day of my life!" I gushed as we approached my office. The embossed plaque filled me with such a strong sense of achievement. Everything I had worked for. Everything I struggled to achieve was all coming together. 

A relieved Hinata continued showing me around the space, explaining the logistics of getting the space ready for my first day in a weeks time. I nodded along, half taking in what she was telling me. I knew she would go over it again later so I let myself enjoy the moment. She chattered on giddily, checking points off on her clipboard as we moved around the space. 

"Are you ready to see your apartment?" She asked, after scanning the list on her clipboard and confirming we had gone over every tiny detail.

I nodded eagerly, clapping my hands together. 

I stood in the doorway of my new apartment marvelling at the huge space. It sat in the loft of the building which housed my office and was only accessible through a hatch in the storeroom closet and an unconventional set of pull down stairs. At first I had been sceptical, even a little annoyed, as I followed her up the rickety ladder but as I stepped into the open plan studio I found myself speechless. I didn't dare as how much it had cost to fully furnish - or to ask how the hell they had gotten two sofas and a bed in.

"How...I...wait...what?" I babbled, unable to pick a place to start complimenting. 

Hinata shrugged, clutching her clipboard to her chest with a satisfied smirk on her face. 

"But this is ready now. I could move in now." 

"That was the idea, wasn't it? You have all your boxes in your car." 

"I know, I just I thought I'd leave them here for storage until it was ready, but it's ready now," I repeated, incredulous. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon unloading boxes from my car and hauling them up the rickety steps to my apartment. 

"Jeez, where's Naruto when you need him," I grumbled as I leaned precariously down to grab the box Hinata was holding up to me. 

"What...what do you mean by that?" she froze, almost dropping the box to the floor. I grabbed it just in time, saving my crystal wine glasses. I let out a sigh of relief and quickly lifted the box through the hatch, pushing it across the wooden floor.

"I just meant that I've helped him move twice in the last two months," I said as I turned back to my friend. She looked flustered, even more so than usual. "Why, what did  _you_ think that I meant?" 

She evaded my questioning by passing me another box. 

* * *

 

"That's the last one!" I pushed myself up into the loft after the last box. "Thanks for helping me, Hina." 

I grabbed her arm, helping her through the hatch and into the apartment. Digging around in a box labelled 'kitchen' I pulled out a couple of glasses and made us a drink of water. I gulped down my glassful and refilled it in the sink while Hinata made herself comfortable on the couch. I watched her from the kitchen as she looked around the room. Something was going on with her, I was sure of it. This morning I had been too caught up in my own excitement to notice, but she had been acting strange all day. She fidgeted as I made my way over with her drink. 

"Sorry I don't have anything else," I apologised, setting the drink down on the coffee table. 

"Oh, uhm it's okay," Hinata smiled. I noticed her phone on the arm of the couch light up and she jumped to grab it. I never saw her move so quickly.

I frowned but decided not to say anything. I sat down on the couch opposite and watched as she texted, a bright red blush spreading on her cheeks. There was only one person I knew who could incite a blush like that on my friend's face and that was Naruto. I was dying to ask, but my fear of pushing Hinata too far prevented me from sharing the teasing remarks which were springing forward in my mind. Instead, I waited for her to finish texting and pretended to be admiring the furniture. When she put her phone away, she had a small smirk on her face. It was the first time I had ever seen her smirk. 

"What's got you so happy?" I asked, unable to hold back the questions any longer. 

"Nothing!" Hinata protested, stifling a little giggle. I waited, knowing that she was on the cusp of telling me something. "Oh, alright. It's Naruto, he asked me out!"

"What!" 

"He asked me a few days ago, but I've been so busy planning the opening of the surgery," Hinata admitted. 

I tried not to feel guilty that I was the reason that Naruto and Hinata  _still_ hadn't gotten together. What were a few days really? 

"So, now it's all organised," I held up my hands, gesturing to the space around us. "You going to go out with him tonight?" 

 "Of course not!" Hinata gasped as if I had said something incredibly stupid. 

"Why? Hina, I thought you liked him!" 

"Well...I do, but..." Hinata shrugged. "I don't know if it's such a good idea. We're friends and what if it doesn't work out, I'll never be able to look at him again." 

I had no idea what to say to that. She was right, it was risky to try and date someone you were friends with.

"Oh, Hina, that's..." I trailed off searching for some encouraging words. "It doesn't always mean that your friendship will be ruined. Look at Ino and Sasuke, they still hang out." 

Hinata looked at me sharply, clearly over analysing me bringing up Sasuke. Ever since we had shown up at Naruto's housewarming together she had been all over me about Sasuke. I had tried to assure her that he was my friend and lawyer, nothing more, but Hina clearly had other ideas. I crossed my arms, sure that she was about to deflect the conversation away from her budding relationship with Naruto. 

"Maybe," she sighed, fiddling with a strand of her hair. "I don't know. I think I'm going to just say no." 

I sighed and crossed my arms disapprovingly. There was no sense pushing her any further. Though it had become abundantly clear over the past few weeks that Naruto and Hinata would be the power couple we all needed, I knew if I pushed too hard she would pull back and it would never happen. So, I kept my opinions to myself. 

"Well, if that's what you think," I shrugged trying to act nonchalant. "How about me and you go get a drink tonight instead? Girls night?" 

"Yeah, sure! We can celebrate," she agreed, though I could tell that she was still distracted. There was a long pause. I tapped on the side of my glass waiting for something to say. 

 A minute or so passed. Hinata fiddled with her phone. I wondered if she was regretting telling me about Naruto. 

"How did you meet your husband?" 

"What!?" I spluttered, alarmed by the mention of my husband. It had been some time since anyone had brought him up. I hadn't even really thought about him in a while. I had been so swept up in opening the surgery that he had been the last thing on my mind. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," she panicked. 

"No, no, it's fine, you just surprised me," I laughed, trying to disperse the awkwardness. "I met him while I was at college." 

"Oh," Hinata seemed surprised. 

I realised that I had never really spoken to my friends about my soon to be ex-husband. The awkwardness was rapidly returning. There was nothing I could say to make the situation better. There was a reason I didn't talk to my friends about him, I knew that they would be shocked to discover that I slept with a professor in the first semester of college and got engaged three months later. It wasn't the smartest decision of my life. 

"Look, Hina, I don't really wanna talk about it right now," I sighed. Not wanting to come across as cold, I decided to open up just a little. "I'll tell you about it later? I need a few drinks first." 

* * *

 

I dug through the boxes of clothes which I had piled at the foot of my bed, looking for something to wear to have drinks with Hinata. My usual sweatpants and vest combo was most likely too casual. I was sure that Hinata would be dressed to the nines, the joys of being rich - I guessed. Even though we were only going to the bar, I felt as though making an effort was needed. 

Sorting through my boxes, I tried to unpack as I went. Hanging up a dress on the rail of my built-in storage, I glanced at the clock. Hinata would be arriving any minute and I still wasn't dressed. I started searching through my boxes even faster, throwing the first halfway decent outfit on that I could find. I grimaced, catching sight of myself in the mirror, it was far too dressy for a bar. I was debating on changing when I heard my phone buzzing under the pile of clothes on the bed. I sighed, she was outside. 

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I muttered, pulling on the closest pair of heels and grabbing my purse. I left my phone on the bed, not wanting to waste time digging through the clothes to find it. 

I wobbled my way down the pull out stairs in my heels, dreading having to climb back up them at any level of intoxication. I met Hinata outside of the building and as predicted, she looked amazing. 

"Sakura, you look amazing!" She beamed.

"Thank you," I smiled. "You look beautiful as always." 

I looped my arm through hers and we set off for the bar. It was only a short walk from my place and we were there in almost no time at all, another convenience of living above my office. We chatted about nothing as we made our way through the streets. I secretly hoped that she had forgotten my promise of a conversation about my husband, but it wasn't long before she brought it up. 

"About what we were talking about earlier," she began as we approached the steps to the bar. 

"Hmm?" I pretended to be clueless. I pulled the door and held it open for her. 

"You know about-" 

I frowned as she paused in the doorway. 

"Hinata?" 

I peered over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. 

Naruto was sat at a table, in a deep and serious looking conversation with none other than Ino Yamanaka. It took a moment, but Hinata snapped back to reality. 

"Are you okay?" I whispered into her ear. She smiled unconvincingly at me and strode purposefully to the bar and right passed Naruto. I followed quickly behind her. 

Naruto looked up as we walked by, calling out to us.

"Hey guys, come sit with us!" 

I glanced back and gave him a small wave, but Hinata didn't even flinch. She walked right up to the bar, ignoring the three other people stood waiting and made her order immediately. I had never seen her so determined. It was a day of many firsts for Hinata. 

"Sakura what are you having?" 

"A glass of red please," I replied. "Hey, Hina are you alright?" 

"Oh, I'm fine," she said in a way which made it clear that she was not, in fact, fine. 

"Okay..." 

We got our drinks and Hinata paid the bartender, waving me away as I got out my purse. I hesitated, unsure whether to go and sit with our friends or if Hinata would want to get our own table. Naruto waved us over enthusiastically, so enthusiastically that even Hinata couldn't ignore him. Reluctantly she walked over, and I followed behind - thoroughly confused. 

"Hey guys," I greeted. 

"Hey! You two look pretty, you got plans?" Ino asked. Both her and Naruto were pretty well dressed too. Could Hinata's suspicions be true? Were they actually on a date? 

"Just a girls night, to celebrate Sakura's surgery being ready," Hinata explained, sipping on her gin and tonic. I could detect a slight hint of annoyance in Hinata's tone and the way she looked at Naruto was a little less than friendly.

"What about you guys?" I asked, hoping to keep the conversation from stagnating. At least this was providing a decent distraction to keep Hinata from asking questions about my complicated and frankly embarrassing excuse of a marriage. 

"Oh, I have a date," Ino giggled, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder. 

My eyes widened in alarm. They really were on a date. 

Hinata put her drink down just a little too forcefully on the table. The resulting bang brought the murmur of conversation in the bar to a standstill. There was a tense silence for a few moments before the talking resumed. I could understand why she was upset. Naruto had asked her out and then, within hours of her saying no he had invited Ino out instead - if I was in her situation I would have been furious. By all accounts, she was handling herself well. 

"Are you alright, Hinata? You seem off..." Ino asked hesitantly, looking between Hinata and Naruto. Hinata looked furious. 

"Oh, I'm fine, thank you Ino," She replied sweetly. I winced, she was definitely not okay. 

"Uh, Hinata, maybe we should go and sit at the bar? I need to speak to you," I interjected.

I stood up and was about to pull Hinata away when she snapped. 

"I'm going home," she shook her head. "I'm sorry Sakura, I'm not feeling very well and I need to go." 

"I...uh...Hina," I called as she stood up and walked quickly to the door. 

I sat back down in my seat with a sigh.

"What was all that about?" Naruto asked, still looking at the door as if he was expecting her to come back any minute. 

I crossed my arms and shook my head. 

"You idiot," I chided, wanting to reach across the table and smack him. "She's mad at you." 

"What!? Why?" 

Ino frowned, and then nodded as if putting the situation together in her head. She gasped, smacking Naruto on the arm. 

"Ow! What? What did I do?!" Naruto yelped. 

"She thinks that you asked  _me_ out!" Ino scolded.

"But I didn't! And so what if I did, she doesn't even like me!" 

"Naruto, C'mon! I can't believe that you're so stupid. She likes you!" I stressed. Downing the rest of my wine I set the glass on the table. 

It blew my mind that the pair of them could be so painfully oblivious to each other. It was clear to everyone who knew them that they were meant to be together, and yet somehow neither of them could see how much the other liked them. 

"She likes me?" He asks incredulously. Ino and I nodded sagely. "Why didn't she want to go out with me?" 

"She was worried about ruining your friendship," I sighed, exasperated. "But then, she saw you here with Ino and, well she freaked out! It's so obvious that she wants to be with you." 

Naruto paused, seemingly speechless. 

"Why...Why didn't anyone tell me!?" He yelled, once again bringing the bar to a crashing silence. 

Naruto put his head in his hands and groaned. Feeling a little bad for the guy I reached out and patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

"I have to go find her," he announced. "I'm going to go find her!" 

I opened my mouth and was about to tell him to let her cool off for a minute, but who was I to stand in the way of a budding romance? I remained silent as he pushed his chair back and sprinted out of the door, giving Ino and I the briefest of waves before he left. I shook my head, what a dramatic turn the evening had taken. Ino and I were left alone at the table. The conversation had resumed around us, filling the awkward silence left by our friend's exit. It seemed that we had both been ditched. 

"Man, I hope those two figure it out," Ino sighed taking a sip of her drink. "They would make some cute ass kids." 

Ino and I talked for a while. She explained how she had bumped into Naruto sulking in the bar while she was waiting for her date to arrive. He had told her all about what had happened with Hinata and she was in the middle of reassuring him when we had shown up. In return, I filled her in on the conversation Hinata and I had had earlier that afternoon. 

I was listening to Ino describe the years of the will they won't they relationship that I had missed while I had been away when her date showed up. At first, I hadn't noticed the tall dark-haired man walking towards our table. Then, for a moment I mistook him for Sasuke. It was only when Ino let out a faint squeal, that I realised. 

"Sai!" Ino squeaked. 

"Hello, beautiful," Sai greeted, sliding into the seat next to Ino. I blushed and looked away as he kissed her passionately. 

I coughed awkwardly. This was not how I envisioned my night going. I wasn't used to being the third wheel. It felt weird, it had been such a long time since I had been in such a situation. Being married had made me forget what it was like to be _that_ single friend. It seemed everyone was in the process of discovering new relationships while I was recovering from the spectacular breakdown of my marriage. It was a lot to take at twenty-three. 

"Sorry, uhm, Sai this is Sakura," Ino gasped, giggling as she pulled away from her lover. 

I raised my eyebrows, really really wishing that I had another drink. 

"Nice to meet you, ugly," he smiled, holding out his hand for me to shake. 

I was about to shake it when it dawned on me what he had said. 

"Right. I'm gonna leave you two to  your date." 

I sighed and excused myself, though the two of them were already kissing again and I was unsure if they heard me. I strolled out of the bar. Once outside, went to check my phone only to remember that I had left it at home. I half debated going to check on Hinata but decided against it. She would have come to find me by now if she had wanted to talk. Maybe Naruto had found her after all. 

Resigning myself to walking home alone, I headed back in the direction of my new home. So much for a celebration, I thought glumly as I walked home. Not only had I been abandoned by my friends, but I had been insulted too. I glanced at myself in a shop window, was I really ugly? Usually, I wouldn't have let such a comment bother me but the loneliness of my new found singlehood had worn me down. Even when I was married my husband had been unfaithful, always looking for someone more attractive than me to bring home. The thought of it only made me feel worse. Turning away from the shop window, I stepped up to the curb, ready to cross the street. I was just about to step off the curb when I heard someone shout my name. 

"Sakura!" 

I paused, scanning the street. 

"Hey, Sakura," I turned around to see Sasuke stood by his car. He was parked outside of the grocery store with an armful of brown paper bags. I waved a brief hello and was about to continue on my way when he started to walk over to me. Not wanting to be rude I crossed the street and walked up to meet him. 

"Hi," I smiled. "What are you doing shopping so late?" 

"Hn, I just finished work," he explained, setting the grocery bags down on the roof of his car. "What about you? You're all dressed up." 

I looked down at my clothes. They seemed a lot less fashionable now. I shrugged. 

"I was meant to be having a girls night with Hinata to celebrate the surgery being ready to open," I sighed. "But she bailed, so I'm just about to head home." 

Sasuke nodded. 

"Anyway, I should let you get going. Have a good night Sasuke," I said, turning to walk away. 

"Uh, Sakura," Sasuke called out. I turned back, surprised. "Are you alright? You seem like you've had a crappy night."

I sighed and that was all I had to say. 

"Hn, I'll walk you home," he offered, picking up his groceries from the roof of his car and locking the door. 

"Oh no, you don't have to," I blabbered guiltily. "You're probably tired and had a long day. I can get myself home. My office isn't far from here." 

"You're sleeping in your office?" 

"I have an apartment there," I explained as we walked down the street towards my office building. "It's just here." I pointed up at the building and dug my key fob out of my purse. I held it up to the scanner and waited for the beep. 

Pulling open the door, I waited for Sasuke to excuse himself and leave. We lingered on the doorstep. 

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" he asked, looking up at the two-story building. "There's a bottle of wine in here." He shook the grocery bags in his arms. 

I exhaled, trying to cover my slight chuckle. I was always impressed by the lengths that Sasuke would go to in order to cheer up his friends. 

"I'll make dinner if I have to Haruno, but you're letting me in one way or another," he prompted, seeing my hesitation. 

"Oh, alright," I rolled my eyes. I gestured for him to enter.

* * *

**Sweetopia: This was going to be longer but I decided to split it into two chapters. I'll post the other one soon.**

**Hope you enjoyed it. Lemme know what you think!**

 


	7. Chapter 7

"So uh, this is the place?" Sasuke asked apprehensively as he looked at the rickety metal leader in a broom closet which led up to my apartment. 

"Trust me, it's better when you get up there," I chuckled seeing his concerned look. 

I took the shopping bags from Sasuke's arms and insisted that he climb up first. He gave me a puzzled look but obliged. When he reached the top, he leaned down for the grocery bags. I handed them up to him one by one before I clambered up after him. 

"You were right," Sasuke said as I slid myself onto the apartment floor. I made a mental note to figure out a more graceful way to get into the apartment.

"Hmm?" 

"It's nice when you get up here."

I stood up, dusting myself off. Giving Sasuke an awkward smile, I walked over to the kitchen - gesturing for him to follow. Sasuke set the grocery bags on the counter and pulled out the bottle of wine which he had promised in exchange for an invitation inside. While I hunted for wine glasses in my boxes of kitchenware, Sasuke finished unpacking the grocery bags. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he set out the ingredients on the counter, carefully placing each one down. 

"Ah-ha," I exclaimed, pulling two glasses out of a box and bringing them over. "What are you making?" 

"Zucchini and chicken parm," he replied, folding up the grocery bags and throwing them in the trash. He moved about the kitchen as if he belonged there. He seemed more comfortable in my new home than I did. "Do you have a pan?" 

I sighed and went back to search through the boxes, "What kind?" 

"A skillet, if you have one?" 

I returned with the requested pan, placing it on the stove. Sasuke was busy cutting the chicken, so I poured us each a generous glass of wine. Picking up my glass, I took a sip. For wine bought at the Konoha local store, it was pretty good. I set Sasuke's glass on the counter next to him. He glanced up at me for a second before turning his attention back to the food. A silence settled over us.

The only sounds were as Sasuke bustled around the kitchen, the sound of the stove being turned on, a knife against the chopping board, the hiss of the chicken as Sasuke lowered it into the hot pan. I took a deep breath, leaned against the counter and shut my eyes – listening to the homely sounds. 

"Hey, are you alright?" Sasuke asked after a while. The sudden sound of his voice startled me and I opened my eyes. It was only then that I realised I had been crying.

It wasn't loud, ugly crying - thank god. Just a few silent tears slipping down my cheeks. I scrubbed at my face, wiping them away. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I coughed awkwardly and took a sip of my wine, embarrassed. I hoped that Sasuke would leave it at that, but he didn't. 

"What's wrong now?" 

"Now? What that supposed to-" I cut myself short, aware that I was about to snap at him. "It's been a long day." 

Sasuke shrugged, stirring a jar of sauce into the pan. I could sense him holding back a retort. 

"What?" 

"Hn, it's nothing. Pass me the lid, this needs to sit for a while." 

I sighed, irritated, but passed him the skillet lid. 

Crossing my arms, I waited for Sasuke to turn around - ready for the discussion to continue. He looked at me, head tilted ever so slightly to the side, and reached past me for his glass of wine. He watched me over the rim of the glass. I looked away, self-consciously. Once again silence took hold. I took a big gulp of wine. 

"Hn, so," Sasuke began. The sound of the sauce simmering on the stove filled the apartment. 

"I'm gonna put on some music," I interrupted, rushing out of the kitchen and over to my bed. Digging my phone out from under the pile of clothes. I tried to tidy up a bit as I fumbled around for my phone – shoving clothes back into the boxes by my bed.

I found my phone after an agonizingly quiet minute. I glanced over to the kitchen where Sasuke was milling around in the kitchen, drinking his wine and, most likely, pretending as though I wasn’t acting like a maniac. Eager to fill the silence, I connected to the Bluetooth speaker and shuffled the first playlist I came across on my phone.

The ambient music in the background put me a little more at ease as it filled the apartment. Shoving my phone into the pocket of my trousers, I walked back over to the kitchen and to Sasuke.

“So, how was your day?” I asked, hoping to distract from my unusual behaviour. I picked up my glass of wine from the countertop and cradled it in my hands.

“Hn, busy,” Sasuke replied, crossing his arms.

“Is that it?” I snapped, a little irritated by Sasuke’s reluctance to talk. I thought we had moved past this stage, I thought he had grown up a little.

“Alright,” he seemed alarmed by my standoffishness. “I had back to back meetings all day, and then I stayed at work for a couple of hours to read through some files.”

I smiled, only a little sarcastically, pleased that he had given in.

“How was your day?”

“Hn, busy,” I mocked, trying to break the ice. Sasuke stared at me, unimpressed. “Naruto asked Hinata out.”

“Oh?”

Despite his nonchalant reply, I could tell that Sasuke’s interest had been piqued.

“She said no,” I continued, “but then we ran into him at the bar with Ino and she flipped out. Full on lost it and stormed off because she thought that he was on a date with Ino.”

Sasuke snorted, amused by the very idea of it. I paused and sipped on my wine.

“So? What happened? I assume the story didn’t end there?”

“Well, as you’d imagine, Naruto was completely clueless why Hinata was mad. So, I told him that Hinata does like him, y’know,  _that way_ and he chased after her.”

Sasuke nodded, taking the lid off of the skillet and adding the zucchini to the sauce. I was disappointed by his underwhelmed reaction – though I wasn’t really sure what I had been expecting. The smell of the food simmering in the pan, made my stomach growl with anticipation. Sasuke smiled and looked at me over his shoulder as I hovered by his elbow, sniffing the air.

“I’m going to be honest, I didn’t know that you could cook,” I commented, watching as Sasuke threw in some mozzarella slices and put the lid back on.

“Hn, you haven’t tried it yet,” he chuckled. “So, what happened next?”

“Next?”

“With Hinata and Dobe?” Sasuke prompted.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I stayed at the bar with Ino until her date showed up…Sai?”

“Ugh, Sai,” Sasuke rolled his eyes. I frowned, did I detect a hint of jealousy?

“Yeah well, he showed up. What a jerk,” I groaned, finishing the rest of the wine in my glass.

“Tch, you can say that again,” Sasuke agreed, reaching for the bottle.

I held out my glass for him to pour me some more wine. He obliged, but I could tell from his judging look that he was surprised how quickly I could finish a glass of wine. I saw his glass, still half full on the counter.

“Then, Sai called me ugly, so I left,” I continued. “I ran into you outside the grocery store and you invited yourself over to my place. And here we are.”

“Here we are,” Sasuke topped up his glass and put the bottle back on the side.

We lapsed back into silence, but it wasn’t awkward anymore. I smiled, contented.

“Did he really call you ugly?” Sasuke asked after a few moments, barely concealing a smirk.

I glare and slapped him playfully on the arm, “Yeah, you jerk, don’t you dare say that he was right.”

Sasuke laughed and held up his hands, “I wouldn’t dare. Sai’s an idiot.”

“Yeah well, it’s still not what a girl wants to hear,” I grumbled. Even though I didn’t think for one second that I was ugly, hearing it from a member of the opposite sex really wasn’t encouraging. I hoped that one day, when I was ready, someone would find me attractive enough to date. “Maybe I should just get a cat.”

“What?” Sasuke laughed. “Where did that come from?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know, I just feel like-”

“Plates?”

I walked over to the stack of boxes on the edge of the kitchen and began rummaging for some plates, “just a sec, I haven’t had the chance to unpack yet.”

“It’s okay, this needs a few more minutes. You were saying, about getting a cat?” Sasuke called from the stove as I continued to rummage.

“Well,” I sighed as I hefted the top box onto the floor and began to check the second. “I’m single, about to be divorced at twenty-three and, apparently, I’m ugly. So, why not just give up now and get a cat? Ah, found some!”

I pulled the plates out of the box and stood up, knees cracking. God, I felt old. A cat probably would be a good decision, just steer into the crazy cat lady lane now. Handing Sasuke the plates, I grabbed some cutlery and our glasses before I headed over to the dining table.

“I wouldn’t give up just yet,” Sasuke said, bringing over two plates of food.

I settled myself down on a chair and looked hungrily at the food Sasuke set down in front of me. I picked up my fork, ready to dig in. Sasuke sat across from me, watching me expectantly. I took a bite, all too eager, and burned my mouth.

“Let it cool first maybe?” Sasuke suggested.

“You could have warned me!” I spluttered, taking a sip of wine to sooth my burned tongue.

“You’re a grown woman, I thought that common sense would have warned you,” he teased. “See, you can’t even look after yourself let alone a cat.”

Rolling my eyes, I set my fork back down on the table and waited, if impatiently for the food to cool. Sasuke watched me from the other side of the table, drumming his fingers rhythmically along to the song playing on the speaker.

“Is that why you were crying earlier?”

“What?”

“The cat thing,” Sasuke gestured vaguely with his hands.

I looked away, not wanting him to read the answer on my face. In truth, I was lonelier than I cared to let on. Moving into my own apartment just made that fact more obvious.

“I wasn’t crying,” I denied, picking up my fork and shovelling another mouthful of still-too-hot chicken parm into my mouth. I winced but chewed through the pain. After the initial burn, it tasted amazingly good. “Mmm, this is good.”

“Sakura,” Sasuke sighed. I knew he was trying hard to be a good friend, when he sighed like that, equal parts frustrated and kind.

“Oh alright,” I relented. “I was a little upset about tonight. It just seems like everyone is falling in love and I’m…well, I’m a bit…lonely.”

My words hung in the air ominously as Sasuke tried to figure out a way to respond. I could see it in his face, he was trying to think of something comforting – something that had never been Sasuke’s strong point.

“It’s okay,” I reached across the table, my hand resting on his to stop the drumming of his fingers which had become frantic. “I’m okay. I just didn’t think it would be this hard.”

I pulled my hand away, but Sasuke caught it in his holding it gently. I was surprised by the gesture.

“Sakura…”

The sound of someone, or several someones, climbing noisily up the ladder and into the apartment cut Sasuke short. We looked at each other, confused, and then at the open hatch as Naruto’s head popped up.

“Hey guys, she’s in here!” He yelled over his shoulder. “This looks cosy.”

Sasuke coughed awkwardly and I snatched my hand away, my face hot. I felt as though we had been caught doing something we shouldn’t have been.

Naruto slid his way onto my apartment floor and sprung to his feet. He was quickly followed by an excited, red-faced Hinata. Next came a rather irritated looking Ino. They stood, awkwardly, staring at us.

“What are you guys doing here?” I asked, still trying to understand what was happening.

“We felt bad for ruining your big night,” Ino said, looking over at us with curiosity. “But apparently you found someone- I mean something better to do. Rather a nice set up you’ve got going on here, Sakura.”

I blushed, I knew what she was getting at. From an outside point of view, Sasuke and I with dinner for two and a few glasses of wine could have looked rather romantic. I shook my head.

“No, it’s not like-”

“They _were_ holding hands,” Naruto blabbed, narrowing his eyes as he looked between Sasuke and me.

Feeling self-conscious, I tucked my hands on my lap out of sight and needled Naruto with a stern glare.

“Sorry for interrupting!” Hinata exclaimed, her face turning a few shades redder. “Guys, maybe we should leave.”

“No, Hina,” I blurted. “Stay, please, guys. Stay. They can stay, right, Sasuke?”

“Hn,” Sasuke shrugged non-committedly. I sighed, we were back to one syllable replies.

Hesitantly, the three of our unexpected guests made their way over to the table and sat down. I tried my hardest to avoid direct eye contact with any of them, especially Sasuke, knowing that it would only invite further questions.

“So…” I trailed off uncomfortably, waiting for someone else to speak.

“Oh!” Naruto yelled, startling me. “I found Hina!”

“Well obviously, Naruto, they saw us come in together,” Ino snapped, crossing her arms. She looked even more annoyed than she had when she first arrived. I snuck a glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She was staring directly at Sasuke.

“No, but, I mean-“

“We’re dating!” Hinata grinned, interrupting her new boyfriend.

I clapped my hands together excitedly. Pleased that they had worked it out, “I’m so happy for you guys!”

And I meant it. For a split second. Then came the sad empty feeling that came with knowing I might never experience that same excitement for myself again. My smile faltered for a moment and Sasuke leaned across the table to push my wine glass towards me. I picked it up and took a grateful sip.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s great,” Ino muttered.

I frowned, she had seemed so enthusiastic about them getting together earlier. Now she seemed bitter. I suspected it had something to do with her notably absent date.

“I couldn’t wait to come to tell you, I’m sorry we interrupted,” Hinata apologised. “I didn’t know you and Sasuke had plans.”

“I actually just ran into him on my way home from the bar,” I explained before anyone started getting any grand ideas. “He offered to walk me home, isn’t that right, Sasuke?”

“Hn, yep,” he answered. I needled him with a glare, the least he could do was to help me out here. Thankfully, he picked up on the signal I was sending him. “I suggested that I made dinner, since…since she had just moved in and didn’t have any food.”

I stared at him, confused as to why he would lie but not wanting to contradict him. Either way, his version of events seemed to put the suspicious minds of our friends at ease because the conversation swiftly moved on. Hinata and Naruto went on to recount the romantic story of how he had chased her down and, much to Hinata’s embarrassment had kissed her in the middle of the street. A fact which, I was sure, would be the talk of the town for the next few days.

Ino was still in a sour mood after our friends moving story. She sat, scowling at the table until someone asked her what was wrong. At which point she recounted a less exciting story of a date interrupted by two giddy idiots and how she had been dragged away from what she described as ‘a sure thing’ to come sit in her friend’s apartment.

“You didn’t have to stay!” I gasped, realising that every minute I had kept her there was another minute she wanted to be with Sai. I couldn’t say that I understood, but she liked him. “Go! Ino, go!”

“Nah,” She sighed, waving her hand in front of her. Now that she had vented, she seemed more relaxed. “Probably better if I make him wait for it anyway. It was only our second date. Might as well stick to the three dates rule.”

I snorted, amused by her bold attitude. She shrugged and leaned back in her chair.

“So, you guys have any more wine?” She asked.

I chuckled, rolled my eyes and went to fetch three more glasses and another bottle of wine. Who needed a boyfriend, or a husband, when you had friends like mine?

* * *

 

**Sweetopia: Okay guys so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even if it is a little short. I've had a bit of writers block over the weekend, but I'm over it now.**

**Also starting tomorrow, I'm going to be working to a new publishing schedule with the new upload day for this story being Friday.**

**Drop me a comment to lemme know what you thought of the chapter! Hope you liked it and I can't wait to write more for you guys!**

 


	8. Chapter 8

“Sakura…are you listening?” Hinata asked, watching me over her clipboard as I fiddled with my stethoscope.

“Hmm? Yeah,” I lied, startled out of my stupor. I sighed, knowing that she didn’t believe me. “Sorry, I’m just nervous. What were you saying?”

Hinata recapped everything she had organised for the day and this time I made sure to pay attention. It was important that this first day went well. I nodded along, following her over to the reception desk where she sat down, searching for a piece of paper.

“Here, this is your patient list for today. There should be a copy on your computer, but the IT company haven’t sent anyone to set up the system yet so we’re going to have to use paper copies for the next few days. Don’t worry though I’ll call them this afternoon,” Hinata smiled, seeing the gratitude on my face. She really had thought of everything. “And I’m still picking candidates for your receptionist and office manager but I should have one before the week is out.

“Thank you, Hina, I really don’t know how I would have coped without you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she shook off my thanks with a simple shrug. “Your first appointment isn’t for half an hour - do you want a cup of tea to calm you down a bit? You seem jittery.”

She wasn’t wrong. I had barely slept and now a mixture of excitement and nerves made me feel as though I couldn’t stand still. I nodded, a cup of tea was probably just the thing I needed. Hinata went off to the staff kitchenette to make some tea, returning moments later with two cups and a packet of biscuits which she set down on the reception desk. I raised my eyebrow, I didn’t remember buying biscuits.

“They’re a gift, from me and Naruto,” she pushed the packet towards me. I laughed, picking them up. I suspected that Naruto had more to do with this gift than Hinata, given the own brand grocery store label. Naruto, Sasuke and I used to live on these when we were in middle school and since then it had been a running gag gift between us. Anytime one of us achieved something the others would buy them a pack of double chocolate cookies from the Konoha grocery store. I had half expected to get one on my wedding day, but none had arrived. I had assumed he had forgotten.

“Tell Naruto I said thank you,” I chuckled.

Hinata pulled a face, “I wanted to get you something nice, but he insisted that you’d like these better.”

“They’re perfect,” I couldn’t help the stupid grin on my face. It was nice to know our little gestures of affection hadn’t stopped just because I had moved away. Now that I was back, it seemed everything was returning to the way it was before. “So, you and Naruto, giving a joint gift? That’s pretty serious, you’ve only been dating a few days.”

Hinata’s face began to turn red and she looked away awkwardly.

“I know, I thought it might be weird…but he’s just so enthusiastic,” she mumbled, taking a sip of tea.

We lapsed into silence. I didn’t want to discourage Hinata from her new relationship, but I was also worried about them moving too fast. Naruto had a tendency to get carried away and Hinata was just the type of person to go along with it. Despite my worry, I held my tongue. She was a grown woman, she could make her own decisions.

In the silence, I took my time to scan over the list of patients for the day. Of course, I recognised every single name on the list. The joys of small-town living. I sighed and took a sip of tea. Hinata busied herself with organising the reception desk.

The buzzer beeped not much later, signalling the arrival of my first patient – twenty minutes early. Alarmed, I looked to Hinata for guidance.

“You go wait in your office, I’ll get them registered and send them in in a bit,” Hinata reassured, bemused at my panic. You would have thought I had never seen a patient before. Nodding, I hurried into my office, trying to settle my nerves.

I sat down at my desk, arranging and rearranging the stationary on it over and over. Through the glass panel in my office door, I watched Hinata greet our first patient. I glanced down at my list, it wasn’t going to be a busy day, I had ten patients scheduled in. I had a feeling Hinata was trying to ease me into this new career.

At ten past nine, there was a knock on my office door.

“Come in,” I called, and my first patient walked through the door. “Hi, take a seat, how are you today?”

 

* * *

 

After that first day, I quickly fell into a routine. I had missed work. I had missed that sense of purpose it filled me with. My nerves had settled after the first few patients, reassured by their enthusiasm at my new venture. I was told over and over that first week how glad they were I had come back to town.

That first Friday, I practically skipped down the ladder to my apartment – eager to begin the day. Hinata was waiting behind the reception desk, the phone to her ear while she scribbled frantically on a piece of paper. She glanced up at me, giving me a quick wave and pointing to the cup at the edge of the desk. Fresh coffee. I smiled, picking up the mug and perching myself on the edge of the desk, waiting for her to finish.

“Ugh,” Hinata groaned as she hung up the phone. “Sorry about that. That was supposed to be your new office manager, they were offered another job so we’re back to square one!”

“Oh no,” I said sympathetically, though I couldn’t help but feel a little glad. I had enjoyed working with Hinata and I was sad that she would be leaving.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find someone else,” she sighed. “It might take me a little longer though so I guess you’re stuck with me.”

“Well,” I hesitated. If I was going to ask then now was the time to do it. “I’ve been thinking and, you can say no if you want to, but I’ve really loved having you working here this week. You’re such a great office manager and you’re my best friend and I’d really like if you kept working here…”

“Sakura…”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to!” I said quickly, feeling foolish for even asking. Of course, Hinata Hyuga, Konoha socialite, wouldn’t want to be someone’s receptionist.

“No, no I’d love to!” She stood up, reaching out and grabbing my hand. “Are you serious? Why wouldn’t I want to work with you, it’s been great!”

“Are you sure? It’s not a very glamorous job, Hina.”

“Who cares about glamorous? Sakura, just because my family is rich doesn’t mean I think I’m above being a receptionist,” she laughed. I was surprised by how astute she was about the situation. That or I was being extremely obvious. “I can’t believe you’d think that.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean…you still want the job, though right?”

She rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up from spending too much time with me (or so Naruto said), and crumpled up the piece of paper with the other candidates’ details on, throwing it into the bin.

“What time is my first appointment?” I asked, taking that as her answer.

“In about ten minutes, if they’re not late,” she replied. “You could just check on your computer.”

“I know, but this gives me a good excuse to come chat,” I shrugged, not moving from my seat on the edge of her desk. Hinata raised her eyebrow. “So…how’s things going with Naruto.”

“Fine.”

“Hina,” I chided. “You’re acting like Sasuke.”

“What do you want me to say? Things are going fine,” she sighed. I worried that I had annoyed her. Thinking better of pushing her further, I excused myself and went to sit in my office alone.

I drummed my fingers on the desk, trying to think of ways to appease my best friend. After ten minutes I gave up, having come up with nothing good, and prepared myself for my first patient of the day. As Hinata had correctly predicted they were running late, a fact which threw off my appointment times for the rest of the morning. It was our busiest day yet, so busy that I found myself working through lunch to try and get back on schedule. I tried to ignore my rumbling stomach as I checked an elderly lady’s blood pressure, hoping that this would be a mercifully short appointment. As it turned out, it wasn’t.

“Okay, so your blood pressure is just a little high,” I explained, at which point I was asked to check it again and when it yielded the same result, to check again. After finally talking the woman into trying some lifestyle changes and coming back in two weeks, I sent her on her way.

Quickly checking her off the appointment list, I glanced at the clock. I had around five minutes before my next appointment. Just enough time to grab another cup of coffee. I was about to get up and run to the break room when Hinata opened the door, coffee in one hand and a half-empty packet of double chocolate cookies in the other.

“Here, I thought you could use something sweet,” She set them down on my desk. I was forgiven.

“Thanks,” I smiled, picking up a cookie and shoving it into my mouth. “It’s crazy today!”

“I know. You’re doing great though, Sakura,” She squeezed my shoulder. “Do you want me to send the next one in or you want another five minutes?”

“Uh,” I looked at the list. It was already four-thirty and I had another six appointments. “You’d better send the next one in. I don’t want to keep you after hours.”

“Oh okay. Just as well, I have a date tonight,” she giggled walking out of the room.

“No Hina, come back you can’t just – Hi there, take a seat. What seems to be the problem today?”

 

* * *

 

“Oh, thank god,” I groaned, slouching in my chair as the last patient left the surgery. It was already past closing but another late patient had thrown us off schedule. I made a mental note to update our practice policy on late appointments.

A gentle knock at the door and Hinata poked her head into the room, “Can I come in?”

“Sure, come in,” I said tiredly, waving her into the room.

“I just came to see if you needed anything before I leave?”

“No, I’m all good here. You go have fun,” I smiled, running my fingers through my hair.

“Okay, Sakura, I’ll see you Monday,” she paused, her face pink. “I will still be seeing you Monday right? I’m sorry for overacting earlier. I just don’t want you to think I’m some kind of rich snob.”

I laughed in surprise. I could never, ever think of Hinata as a snob.

“I’ll see you on Monday, Hina. Go enjoy your date.”

I waited in my office for a while, tiding up from such a busy day, before I gave in a went upstairs. This was the worst part of the day. I sighed, turning off the lights and trudging up the ladder to my apartment. My empty, lonely apartment.

At least while I was at work I was busy. I flipped on the lights and made my way to the bathroom. Stripping off my clothes, I turned on the shower and waited for the water to warm up. I stared into the mirror while I waited, looking critically at my tired eyes and messy hair.

After I took a shower, I threw on a robe and went to the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of wine while browsing from the array of takeout menus on the countertop. Settling on Chinese food, I picked up my phone and called in my order trying to feel guilty for ordering food every night that week. Though I told myself it was temporary – just until I got properly settled in my new place – I knew that wasn’t true. I was always too tired and lazy to cook after a days work. All I wanted to do was lay on the couch and watch TV.

The noise of the TV filled the emptiness of my apartment giving me some comfort. Curling up on the couch, wine in hand, I flicked through the channels looking for something to watch. All the while I wondered how this was where I had ended up. A single woman in her early twenties was home, alone, on a Friday night waiting for her fifth takeout meal of the week to arrive. The thought of it made me feel even worse.

I dozed on the couch, while I waited for my food to arrive. Taking a large sip of wine, I tried to think of a way to curb my boredom. I couldn’t take another night alone. I considered calling my aunt, but she had been on night shifts and would most likely be heading to work.

My food arrived quicker than expected and I wound up answering the door still in my bathrobe, much to the surprise of the teenaged delivery boy. Though being addressed as ma’am sure did make me feel old. Sighing, I threw the money and him and took my food back up to my flat.

Returning to my position on the couch I shovelled as much food into my mouth as I could until I began to feel sick. Dropping the container to the floor, I poured myself a fourth large glass of wine, emptying the bottle. I bit my lip, already feeling a little fuzzy. Maybe another glass of wine wasn’t the best idea. Shrugging I drank it anyway.

One downside of getting drunk alone is feeling so incredibly sad. Being drunk, alone and sad is never a good combination. It’s a combination which always leads to bad decisions. Always.

Finishing my glass of wine, I picked up my phone and made the worse decision since getting married. I called my husband.

“Hello? Sakura?”

“Hi…” I mumbled, he had answered sooner than I had expected.

“Why are you calling me?” he asked, clearly surprised. He had every right to be, the last time I had called him, I had been less than pleasant.

“I…uh…I don’t know….I just…I miss you,” I sighed, “I mean I don’t. I don’t miss you. I just uh…I don’t know…”

“Are you…Sakura you’re drunk,” he accused. I scoffed in disgust at the accusation, despite it being true. “I can’t believe-“

“No, no, this was a mistake. You’re right, I’m sorry. I won’t…I’m gonna go, I’m sorry,” I cursed myself for apologising after I had hung up.

I was angry at myself. What a stupid thing to do.

I debated calling Hinata, but she would be with Naruto. Ino also crossed my mind, but she would be with Sai and Tenten and Neji were certainly out of the question. Neither of them were good at relationship advice. There was only one person I knew who would give me the telling off I needed.

“Hn, hello?” Sasuke answered after several rings.

“Hi, it’s me,” I spoke quickly. “I did something bad. Really bad.”

“Sakura? Are you alright? What happened?” He sounded alarmed.

“Oh, yeah no it’s fine,” I backpedalled, aware that I might have come on too strongly.

“You just said-”

“I called Yamato!”

Silence. I waited nervously for him to reply. I could hear light conversation in the background, faint music and clinking glasses. Was he in the bar? Alone?

“Hn, I’m a little busy right now, Sakura. I’m at work. Can I, uh, I’ll stop by tomorrow. I’ll cook dinner,” he finally answered. “We can talk about it then. Just, just go to bed.”

I sighed, he was right. I should just go to bed.

“Yeah, sorry for calling.”

“Sakura…”

I hung up the phone and stumbled my way from the couch to my bed. Already dreading the hangover I was going to have the next morning.

 

* * *

 

The sun woke me in the early afternoon. I woke, sweaty and dehydrated blinded by the light coming in from the skylight above my bed. I had forgotten to close the blinds. I groaned, burying my face in my pillow, recalling the previous night's events. A quick check on my phone confirmed my fear, I had called my husband and then I had called Sasuke to complain about it.

“Oh god, he must think I’m such a mess,” I shoved my phone under the pillow as if that would erase the mistakes of the previous night.

On a better note, I wasn’t even half as hungover as I was expecting to be. I attributed that to the fact I had slept for almost twelve hours. In desperate need of water, I dragged myself out of bed and to the kitchen. A pint of water later, I felt a little better.

The state of the living room made me instantly feel worse. The half-eaten Chinese food had been left out all night and was starting to smell less than appetising. I gathered up my wine glass and the empty bottle from the floor and started to tidy up.

From my bed, I heard my phone buzz. I thought about ignoring it, but the risk of it being important was too great. Now that I was the town’s resident doctor I had a growing paranoia about being called to an emergency  - another reason I was ashamed at drinking so much. Even a day off wasn’t really a day off.

Pulling my phone back out from under the pillow, I was relieved to discover it wasn’t an emergency at all.

**_Hi. Hope you’re alright? You sounded upset last night. Still okay if I cook you dinner? S_ **

I winced, it was a pity dinner.

**_Hey, I’m good. Sorry about the late night call. I was a little drunk. You don’t need to come over, don’t worry about it. S x_ **

I threw the phone onto the bed while I pulled on some comfortable clothes, ones suitable for cleaning the apartment. I received a reply surprisingly quickly. Struggling to pull my sweatpants on with one hand, I picked up my phone with the other.

**_I’m coming over. I’ll be there around seven. I have some errands to run first. S_ **

I exhaled heavily. There would be no telling him otherwise. Once Sasuke set his mind to something there was very little that would change it. I still felt guilty, he probably had far better things to be doing than checking up on his disaster of a friend on a Saturday night. Now I really had a reason to clean the apartment, I couldn’t let Sasuke see it like this. Then he really would think that I was a mess. I still had another five hours before he was going to show up for dinner, that was plenty of time to get rid of any evidence of the night before. Starting with that smell.

 

* * *

 

It took several hours, but I finally finished cleaning to a satisfactory level. I had even managed a couple of loads of laundry. The pressure of having company worked wonders for my motivation. I had even vacuumed the surgery waiting room while I was on a roll.

Collapsing heavily onto the couch, I shut my eyes actually enjoying the peace and quiet. Maybe I was over the worst of it?

The sound of the buzzer startled me. I glanced up at the clock, it wasn’t even six o’clock yet. Sasuke was early, and I hadn’t had time to change. After a moment of panic, I decided that he had seen me in worse states. The buzzer rang again.

“Alright, alright,” I muttered, making my way downstairs to buzz Sasuke in. Leaning over the reception desk I hit the button and the speaker. “Alright, you can come up!”

Pushing myself up onto the desk I decided to wait down there for him. Crossing my arms, I waited, ready to berate Sasuke for being early. The door opened and I opened my mouth to greet him, only to find myself absolutely speechless.

“Hi, Sakura.”

“Y-Yamato,” I stammered. Not quite believing that my husband was standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?”

* * *

**Sweetopia: OKAY. So. Yeah. I'm sorry for being super flakey yet again. I started writing this on Wednesday and I just couldn't finish it, but I've been planning out my fics in advanced before I sit to write a chapter and I think it's gonna work a lot better.**

**ANYWAY. Hope you liked this? Lemme know what you think in the comments. Thank you guys for your support!**


	9. Chapter 9

“How did…Uh…I mean…Why…How did you – How did you find me?” I stammered, pushing myself backwards over the desk, hoping to put some more space between us. I landed awkwardly, twisting my ankle, but tried not to let it show on my face.

“I was worried about you,” Yamato began, avoiding my question.

I watched warily as he took a few pacing into the room. Unsatisfied with his response, I crossed my arms, waiting for him to answer my question.

“How did you find me, Yamato?”

He remained silent, staring me down. After the initial shock began to wear off, my guard was up. I was surprised by just how much it hurt me to see him again, but I refused to show it. I bit my lip, hoping to fight off the tears a little while longer.

“Come home,” he pleaded, stepping towards me.

I stepped back, grateful for the desk forming a barrier between us. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take it if he touched me. Shaking my head, I tried to summon the strength to speak.

“Please, Sakura. After your phone call last night, I know it’s what you want. Just come back to Suna with me and we can work this all out,” he continued.

“No, Yamato! I – ugh! Last night was a mistake. I was drunk and sad and that’s not the point. You shouldn’t have driven all the way down here. How the hell did you find out where I live?”

“Oh please, Sakura, it’s not hard to figure out. All I had to do was ask the first person I saw on the street of this backwoods little town and they directed me straight here!”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, of course that was how he had found me. Shrugging, I turned away from him. I had nothing left to say. I didn’t even want to look at him. Cursing myself for drinking so much the previous evening, I walked around the desk and to the door, pulling it open.

“Leave, please.”

“Sakura-“

“Yamato. I need you to leave. You can’t be here!” I snapped, my frustration begging to wear through. “I’m sorry I called you and I’m sorry you got the wrong idea, but I don’t want to be with you and I don’t want you here. So please.”

“I’m not going anywhere until we talk about this,” Yamato protested.

I lifted my gaze, finally able to look him in the eye. He must have been able to tell that I was angry and upset, it was written all over my face, but he seemed to ignore it. Yamato reached out for me, his hand grabbing my arm. I twisted, pulling away. The thought of his hands on my body made me feel sick.

“Don’t be like that,” he sighed reaching out for me again.

For a split second, I felt guilty at rejecting him when he had driven so far to see me. Then I regained my senses. I lifted my hand as if to slap him away. Yamato back down crossing his arms and shaking his head at me.

“Why won't you just come back to me?”

I had to admit that I was shocked by how defeated he sounded. My heart softened just a little. Maybe I had been selfish. He was going through the divorce too. Maybe he was experiencing the hurt, the heartbreak, the loneliness too.

“Oh, Yamato,” I sighed closing the door. Maybe indulging him in a little conversation wouldn’t hurt too much. “I’m happy here. I’m settled. Surely you must understand that we just don’t work together.”

There was a long pause as he considered my words. I retreated to the comfort of a waiting room chair, waiting for him to respond. In the silence, Yamato’s gaze slid away from me, looking around the surgery absently.

“But,” he began, then he faltered as if wondering which tact to take. “How can you tell me that you’re happy. You called me in tears last night. You said that you missed me!”

“I was drunk!”

“Drunk or not, you said it,” he turned to look at me again. “I don’t see how you can kid yourself into thinking you’re happy in this shitty place. I’ve been in Konoha less than an hour and I already want to blow my brains out. I see why you were so eager to leave. What a dump.”

“Hey!” I protested, suddenly feeling very protective about my town. “I like Konoha. I was a dumb kid when I left. I’ve grown up since then.”

“You’re still acting like a child, Sakura! Just stop arguing with me. Come home.”

“This _is_ my home.”

“You’re living in your office!” he snapped. I flinched at the loudness of his voice in the quiet of the surgery. I hated when he shouted.

Closing my eyes, I begged myself not to cry – not to show any sign of weakness.

I was about to respond when I heard the door.

“Hey, sorry I’m early. I let myself in-“

My eyes flew open at the sound of Sasuke’s voice. In the craziness, I had forgotten that he was coming over.

Sasuke stood, a bag of groceries and a bottle of wine in hand, looking thoroughly confused. I stood up, unsure of what to do. There was a tense moment, my gaze flickered between Sasuke and my husband, who’s face was growing redder by the second.

“Sasuke! Uh, now’s not…now isn’t a great time-“ I began, only to be cut short.

“Oh, I see how it is,” Yamato yelled, turning to me. I flinched again. “You’re a whore.  A cheating little whore.”

I gasped, shocked at the accusation. Even in our most heated arguments, Yamato had never used language like that towards me. Sasuke looked equally as stunned.

“And you!” Yamato walked up to Sasuke, shoving him. “You know she’s married, right? You’ve been fucking my wife!”

“Yamato!” I shrieked. He ignored me, continuing to rant about me being unfaithful.

“Hn, look, _Yamato_ ,” Sasuke interrupted. I could see the muscle in his jaw twitch as he tried to keep his cool. “I think you’ve gotten the wrong idea.”

“Oh really? So, you’re not here to cook my wife dinner? You’re not here to fuck her?”

“Oh my god!” I was aghast by his behaviour. “Anyone would think that you had never had an affair! But that’s not what is happening here! Sasuke is a good friend, that’s all!”

The tears were getting more and more difficult to contain, I could feel them spilling – red hot – down my cheeks. I hated myself for crying in front of them, but my emotions were too much to keep contained. I had always been an angry crier. Swiping at my cheeks, I furiously tried to rid myself of the tears.

“What did you say to me, you slut?”

I gritted my teeth, ready to punch him. Clenching my fist, I tried to talk myself down. There was no way that I was going to stand idly by while he insulted me.

“I said, anyone would think you never had an affair,” I spat.

I hoped my words hurt him. I hoped they hurt him as much as I hurt when I found him in bed with my co-worker. I hoped they hurt as much as I hurt when I walked in on him kissing the maid. I hoped they hurt as much as I hurt when I had discovered his lewd text messages to eighteen other women.

If they did, he didn’t show it.

“I think you need to leave,” Sasuke spoke up, holding his phone to his ear. “I’m calling the cops.”

“No need,” Yamato said coldly. “I’m leaving.”

I let out a sigh of relief as Yamato walked out, listening as he slammed each door on his way out of the building. As soon as I heard the front door slam shut, the tears came thick and fast. Sobbing, I sunk down onto the nearest chair with my head in my hands. Through my sobbing, I could hear Sasuke murmuring into his phone. He continued his conversation for several minutes before hanging up and making his way over to me.

“Hn, it’s alright,” he muttered, crouching awkwardly beside me while I cried.

I struggled for a few moments to compose myself.

“I’m so sorry,” I wailed. “You didn’t need to see that.”

 

* * *

 

It had taken some time, but Sasuke had finally managed to coax me up the stairs to my apartment. I lay, curled up on the couch, watching as Sasuke busied himself in the kitchen. He had mostly avoided eye contact with me, most likely uncomfortable. He had always been uncomfortable with crying girls…well crying anyone really.

My eyes felt gritty and sore. My head throbbed. I groaned and closed my eyes, pressing my palms against them trying to stop the tears which were still steadily streaming down my face.

“I got you some wine,” Sasuke’s voice startled me. I pulled my hands away from my eyes and, half blind from crying, reached out to take the glass from him. “If I had known that your husband was stopping by, I would have picked us up something a little stronger.”

“I didn’t know that he was coming,” I sighed, still feeling awful that Sasuke had had to see us arguing. I took a sip of wine, vowing not to overdo it tonight.

“Hn, I know,” he reassured, perching on the couch beside me. He reached out, as if to stroke my hair – a gesture so unlike Sasuke that I almost commented – but seemed to think better of it. He dropped his hand back to his lap. I glanced away.

He remained beside me. I could feel the heat coming off of his body. We sat in silence for a while, sipping our drinks. I continued to cry, seemingly unable to stop.

“Did…did you really call the police?” I asked after a while, my voice a little gravely.

Sasuke chuckled. I glanced up at him, surprised.

“I have Naruto on speed dial,” Sasuke admitted, pulling out his phone and showing me. “He’ll make sure your husband won’t bother you again.”

That fact cheered me up significantly. It was sweet that they were still such close friends after all this time. Sweeter still that Sasuke would call his best friend to respond to an incident rather than call the station.

We fell into silence again, but I felt significantly better. It was reassuring knowing that Naruto was looking out for me and even more reassuring that Sasuke was still with me.

“Hn, I’ll go check on dinner.”

I nodded, watching him out of the corner of my eye as he made his way over to the kitchen. Sniffing, I set my wine glass on the floor beside me. Picking up the TV remote, I absently flicked through the channels until I found something mindless to watch. I yawned as the opening credits of a procedural drama flashed across the screen.

“You alright?” Sasuke called after almost an hour.

“Hmm? Yeah, I’m alright. Just…I’m sorry,” I shrugged, wiping a stray tear from my cheek.

“You really don’t need to be,” Sasuke approached, carrying two plates of food. I picked up the remote as if to turn the TV off. “You can leave that on. We’ll eat here.”

 

* * *

 

After dinner, we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. The shock had begun to wear off and now I just felt awkward and embarrassed. Sasuke was my friend, sure, but he never had been the best at dealing with me when I got emotional.

“Hn,” Sasuke coughed, breaking the silence. “Do you want me to call Hinata? Or Ino maybe?”

I shook my head at him. I didn’t want anyone else to see me like that – it was bad enough that he had seen me like that. He nodded, sinking back into the couch with a sigh. The silence persisted.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” I asked after a minute or so.

Sasuke hesitated, “No.”

“Sure,” I laughed, pretty certain that he was lying to me. “I think I am.”

“You’re not stupid, Sakura. Just…just…”

“Stupid! I’m stupid. I got married too young out of stupidity. I ran away from that marriage and moved here out of stupidity,” interrupting Sasuke before he could finish his thought, I settled myself back onto the couch, resting my head on the closest cushion. The soft fabric against my cheek felt comforting. I closed my eyes, suddenly realising how tired I was.

“You’re not stupid,” Sasuke muttered. I thought I felt the gentle touch of his fingers brushing the hair off of my forehead, but I couldn’t be sure.

My eyes felt too heavy to open, so I ignored the sensation. What I couldn’t ignore was the feeling of Sasuke standing up from the couch or the sound of him walking away. For a moment, I was ready for him to leave. Then, in the next, I felt a horrible sense of fear of being left alone.

“Sasuke,” I called out earnestly. I heard his footsteps pause. “Please stay.”

I heard him sigh. Felt the feeling of a blanket being draped over me. Then I fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

 The smell of burning woke me the next morning. I groaned, rolling over – half expecting to roll off of the couch. The mattress gave way beneath me and I sat up suddenly, surprised.

“Wait, how did I?” I muttered. I had been certain that I had fallen asleep on the couch. How did I end up in my bed?

“You have absolutely nothing to eat in this place!” Sasuke complained from the kitchen. I heard a cupboard door slam and Sasuke continue to grumble under his breath.

Still a little disorientated, I threw the covers back to discover that I was still fully dressed. I shrugged, not expecting to have been otherwise. There hadn’t been anywhere near enough alcohol involved last night for something like _that_ to happen. I pulled a blanket off of the bed and wrapped it around my shoulders. Walking from my bedroom I crossed the living room over to the kitchen where Sasuke was searching my cupboards for something to eat.

I coughed as I approached, so as not to startle him. Sasuke looked over his shoulder at me as I leaned onto the island countertop.

“Morning,” I greeted sheepishly.

Now that I was more awake, I had begun putting the pieces together. He had stayed for me.

“Did you sleep on the couch?” I queried, trying to sound casual.

Sasuke shrugged, which I took for a yes. The idea of it made me smile. At some point after I fell asleep, he must have put me to bed. I tried to conceal my smile.

“Hn, you have no food,” he gestured to the kitchen.

I frowned, “I’m sure I had bread…”

As I looked around the kitchen, I saw the two burned slices of toast sticking up out of the toaster. That explained the burning smell. It seemed Sasuke had cremated the only remaining food in the apartment.  

“Ah,” I chucked. “I see.”

“Hn, get your coat then,” Sasuke sighed, closing the final cabinet door and picking up his wallet from the kitchen counter.

“My coat? Sasuke I know I don’t have any food, but you don’t need to kick me out of my own house.”

“We’re going to the store, stupid,” he rolled his eyes. “Hurry up. I’m starving.”

The early morning food shortage had sufficiently broken any tension between us from the previous evening. As with most things Sasuke got involved in, it was most likely that he would never mention what had happened again – something which I was very grateful for. Knowing that my marital dispute and subsequent crying fit wouldn’t be mentioned outside of the confines of my apartment, I was eager to leave.

Grabbing my coat, I hurried after Sasuke. I didn’t stop to pull my coat on until we were walking down the steps to the office building and out into the sunshine. The sun was beginning to lose its warmth as we were settling into autumn and I was pleased Sasuke had made me bring a jacket.

We walked down the street in silence, more comfortable with each other than we had been the night before. In the light of day, I didn’t feel quite so foolish. Though I felt more relaxed with Sasuke, my eyes were scanning the street for Yamato. I was fairly certain he wouldn’t have stuck around given the threats Sasuke had employed, but the fear that he was waiting for me to come out in public was playing on my mind.

Given that it was a Sunday, the store was fairly quiet. Sasuke grabbed a basket from the front of the store and all but dragged me inside. I rolled my eyes at his insistence, but it seemed that a hungry Sasuke was not to be trifled with. He began filling the basket rapidly, with things I would never choose to eat.

“Uh, Sasuke,” I said, touching him gently on the arm. “I don’t actually like tomatoes.”

“Oh,” Sasuke seemed surprised. He glanced over the shopping in the basket, before putting them in any way. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” I protested, picking the tomatoes out of the basket. “I’m the one paying for this, I’m not buying food I’m not gonna eat!”

“Hn, I’ll buy them then,” Sasuke shrugged taking them out of my hand and putting them back into the basket. “Go get a shopping cart, I’m buying you a proper amount of groceries.”

Knowing better than to protest, I walked back to the front of the store to get a cart. Had I not been so grateful for his help the night before, I certainly would have been annoyed at his pushiness. It was always like Sasuke to boss people around. Pushing the cart in front of me, I scoured the store until I found Sasuke again. I was surprised to find that he wasn’t alone.

“…So Sasuke, same clothes as yesterday, your big date must have gone well,” I heard Tenten joke as she punched Sasuke lightly on the arm as I approached.

“Date?” I asked when I was within earshot.

“No, I uh…” Sasuke faltered, “Something came up. I didn’t end up going.”

“Oh no, Sasuke, you didn’t!” I gasped, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. “I’m so sorry I made you miss your date!”

Tenten looked between us, puzzled by my startled expression. She opened her mouth to comment, but a sharp look from Sasuke shut her up almost immediately. I continued to apologise, worried that the reason he had been so reluctant to stay was that he had been hoping to get to his date after all.

“Well, I should be going. I only came in for some milk,” Tenten excused herself. “Good to see you, Sasuke, Sakura.”

“I’m so, so sorry Sasuke!” I grabbed his arm as he unloaded the basket into the cart I had brought. “You should have told me you had a date and I wouldn’t have made to come to see me.”

“Hn, it doesn’t matter,” Sasuke muttered yanking his arm away. “Besides, it’s a good job I did come to see you.”

“I’m still really sorry though.”

I continued to apologise as we made our way around the store. I couldn’t shake the guilt at making Sasuke miss a date to comfort me. He must have been looking forward to it. I was fairly certain Sasuke didn’t date much so she must have been someone really special.

“Sakura, leave it!” Sasuke snapped as I said sorry for the hundredth time.

I flinched at the loudness of his voice and the rest of the store came to a halt to stare at us. Taking a step away from him, I stopped myself from apologising again and squared my shoulders. I pretended to look for something on a nearby shelf until the usual chatter of the store resumed.

“Sakura,” Sasuke sighed. I refused to face him – a childish action I know, but I didn’t like being yelled at. “Sakura, come on I didn’t mean to yell.”

Still in a huff, I continued my charade – pretending to look for something on a high shelf. I hoped that he would leave it, but he didn’t.

“Sakura, look at me at least?” he baited.

When I refused, I felt the feeling of his hand on my back. The sudden contact made me shiver and I turned almost immediately, alarmed.

He was standing closer than I had been expecting. I took a step back, bumping into the shelf with my elbow. My gaze flickered upwards. Staring at Sasuke through my lashes, I felt my heart beat ever so slightly quicken. His hand, tucked gently under my chin, forced me to look into his eyes.

“You don’t need to be sorry, ok? I’m always here for you if you need me. Date or no date,” he murmured, leaning in closer. For a quick moment, I thought that he might kiss me. Then the reality of who I was dealing with kicked in and I felt him pull away. “Now come on, you’re causing a scene.”

I followed after him as he strode purposefully down the aisle. Man, did he confuse the fuck out of me.

* * *

**Sweetopia: Hey guys! I promised I would be back and I am. I've been super busy with uni as it was my final hand in ever, but that's all over with now and I have lots of free time and so I should be updating much more frequently!**

**I wanted to write more for this chapter, but it's late and I'm getting tired. Don't worry though the next four chapters are already planned out for you!**

**Hope you enjoyed this one!**

**Lemme know what you think and if you liked this check out some of my other stories!**

**xoxoxo**


	10. Chapter 10

“Oh, Sakura!” Hinata exclaimed as I entered the surgery from my apartment. “Are you alright!?”

I smiled. I had expected nothing less. Of course Hinata had heard about what happened, Naruto had been involved. Locking the cupboard door which housed the ladder to the apartment, I slipped the key into the pocket of my slacks and headed over to the reception desk where Hinata was waiting patiently.

“I’m fine, Hina,” I assured. “Just a little bit of drama, this weekend. It’s all sorted now.”

“I know! Ino told me!”

“Ino?” I was surprised. “Naruto didn’t tell you?”

“Well, yes,” Hinata admitted, she looked sheepish. “But while Naruto was out looking for your husband, he saw Shikamaru. Then Shikamaru told Ino and then Ino told me… and then Naruto told me.”

Shaking my head, I perched on the desk. Small towns, I would never get used to how fast word travels. I was sure the whole town would know by now what had happened. Or at the very least some variation of the real story.

“So, what happened?” Hinata looked at me with wide, worried eyes.

“I thought you said you knew already!” I laughed.

In all honesty, I had gotten over it. Mostly. It was just another in a long list of crazy and shitty things my soon to be ex-husband had done. Sasuke had played a big part in helping me to feel better. He had stayed well into Sunday afternoon, helping me unpack the groceries he had bought and generally keeping me company. The thought made me smile a little.

“You seem very happy to say your husband broke into the surgery,” Hinata noted, watching me curiously. I rolled my eyes at her. Even she had heard an exaggerated version of the real story. I could only imagine the wild tales that the rest of the town had heard.

“He didn’t break in.”

“You mean you let him in!?”

“No, I thought…I thought he was Sasuke,” I shrugged. Fiddling with the pens in the desk organiser.  

“Sasuke?” Hinata seemed surprised.

“Yes, Sasuke. We had plans,” I explained. I assumed that she would have known that, considering it was Sasuke who had called Naruto in the first place.

Hinata frowned, “but Sasuke had a date on Saturday night. He told me he did.”

“Well, he cancelled then, I don’t know, Hina,” I was frustrated by her contradiction – and a little by the thought of Sasuke on a date, which surprised me. “Anyway, I thought that Sasuke wanted buzzing in and it was actually Yamato.”

I glanced at the clock, we still had half an hour before patients would start arriving and I knew that Hinata would want the full story from me.

“And?”

“And what? He begged me to come back to Suna with him, I said no, he got angry,” I summed up, not wanting to spread any more of my dirty laundry around town. Hinata would never intentionally gossip, but Ino would most certainly get the real story out of her and she would tell Naruto who was one of the biggest blabbermouths in town.

“Then you called Naruto?”

“No, then Sasuke called Naruto,” I was amazed that she didn’t already know this.

“Wait, when did Sasuke get there?”

“Oh, I don’t know! He let himself in…about halfway through the argument, I think,” I gestured vaguely, not seeing why it was important. “Anyway, Sasuke showing up really pissed off Yamato so Sasuke called Naruto and got Yamato to leave. Then Sasuke cooked me dinner and everything was fine.”

I intentionally left out the fact that I spent the majority of the night in tears. It would only make Hinata feel guilty. She would have wanted to be there for me. In truth, I was glad that she wasn’t there. The fewer people to see me cry the better.

“He cooked you dinner?” Hinata asked, once again not satisfied by my conclusion to the story. “He cooked you dinner and then he left?”

“Well, no,” I continued cautiously. I was sure that this was going to get blown out of proportion. “He ended up staying over.”

“WHAT!?”

I jumped, surprised by how loud she had yelled. I had never heard Hinata shout before.

It seemed that I had been right, she had taken what I had said completely the wrong way. I knew exactly what way she had taken it by the bright red blush which was spreading rapidly over her face.

“No!” I laughed, shaking my head. “He slept on my couch! I just…we both thought that I shouldn’t be on my own. That’s all. Perfectly innocent, so get your head out of the gutter.”

Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief, pressing a hand to her chest, “you really scared me for a minute then.”

“Scared you? Come on Hinata, is the thought of me sleeping with Sasuke actually that horrifying?” I laughed.

The very idea seemed ridiculous. Sasuke and I had been friends for years, it would take a lot for me to just fall into bed with him. Not to mention Sasuke’s complete lack of interest in me that way. Surely Hinata would have known that.

“No, no, it’s not that. It’s fine if you…I… I was just surprised that’s all,” she was flustered. Hinata had always been a little embarrassed talking about sex, a quality which seemed not to have disappeared as she had grown into her twenties.

“Well, nothing happened, so forget about it. Sasuke and I…” I trailed off my mind wandering a little too graphically in that direction for a second. I could feel my face grow hot. I coughed. “Sasuke doesn’t see me that way. We’re friends.”

I watched the clock, eager for the first patient to arrive so that we could stop having this conversation.

“Sasuke doesn’t see you that way?” Hinata repeated, giving me a funny look.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” I shrugged, pushing myself off of her desk. “I’m going to sit in my office and wait for my first patient. Let me know when they get here.”

I unlocked my office door and closed it behind me. Settling myself at my desk, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through Instagram for a little while. Tenten had uploaded a picture of her and Neji at the park, looking more than friends. I looked at the photo, a little envious.

The phone on my desk rang and I dropped my mobile to answer it immediately.

“Hello. Dr Haruno speaking.”

“You said that Sasuke doesn’t see you that way,” Hinata’s voice came through the phone.

I sighed. Leaning so that I could see her through the glass panel in my office door, I made eye contact with her at the desk. She stared back; her brow furrowed as if she were figuring something out.

“Hina, why are you still on this?”

“You said that that _Sasuke_ doesn’t see _you_ that way,” she repeated again. “Not that you don’t see him that way.”

“Hina, come on,” I tried to laugh it off. “You know what I meant. Sasuke and I are friends, there’s nothing going on so you can stop worrying about it.”

“Okay,” she said in a way which very much sounded like she wasn’t going to drop it. “Your first patient is here. I’ll send them in.”

 

* * *

  

There was a knock on my office door around lunchtime. Hinata nudged it open with her elbow, her hands gripping two mugs tightly. I glanced up from my computer screen where I was consolidating patients notes.

She set one of the mugs gently on the desk for me. The smell of floral tea wafted in my direction. I smiled. Hinata never made me coffee in the afternoon. It was her subtle way of telling me I drank too much caffeine, I was sure. She sipped her own mug of tea, standing beside my desk. I continued with my work for a minute, wanting to at least finish the patient’s notes I was working on, and then I picked up my own mug.

“Do you want to sit down?”

Hinata eagerly took a seat opposite my desk settling herself down comfortably. I glanced out of the office door to see an empty waiting room. It seemed that we were in for a quiet afternoon.

“Is there no one else booked in today?” I asked. I was sure there were more names on my list.

“Your next three appointments called up to cancel,” Hinata said cheerfully. “We have a whole hour until the next one, so I thought we could have a bit of a break.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said, but the thought of three patients cancelling worried me. “Did you reschedule them?”

“Who?”

“The patients who cancelled? Did they reschedule?”

“Oh, yes,” Hinata nodded. “Don’t worry, Sakura, the surgery is doing fine. We can afford a few cancellations.”

“I know, I know,” I shrugged. She was right, I didn’t need to worry so much. The surgery was running well. We hadn’t had a quiet day since we had opened, but the idea of my practice failing filled me with dread. At that moment, work seemed to be the only stable thing in my life.

We sat in comfortable silence for a minute while I pondered what to do with a spare hour. My stomach gurgled, seemingly deciding for me. Lunch. The thought of the tonne of food which now sat upstairs in my kitchen was too much to resist. Turning off my computer, I pushed myself up from my desk chair.

“Lock the door, Hina. We’ll go have lunch upstairs if you like,” I smiled, holding open the door for him.

 

* * *

 

 

“What do you fancy?” I asked as Hinata seated herself at the island counter. “Sandwiches, pasta, salad?”

“Salad?” Hinata scoffed. “Since when do you have the stuff to make a salad with?”

I understood her surprise. It wasn’t like me at all. In fact, I usually barely had enough food in to put together a sandwich. Between long hours at work and my own laziness, I rarely went grocery shopping. It was only thanks to Sasuke that I had anything to offer at all.

“Sasuke bought me some food,” I admitted. “We went grocery shopping together yesterday.”

“Ohhhh, I see,” Hinata raised her eyebrows.

I ignored her. I knew what she was getting at. Instead I crossed my arms, waiting for her to tell me what she wanted to eat.

“I’ll have a salad then.”

“Okay, cool.”

Opening the fridge, I pulled my usually underused vegetable drawer open. Pulling out the lettuce, spinach leaves, cucumber and peppers, I set them on the side. I paused for a second, turning to Hinata.

“Do you want tomatoes?”

“I thought you didn’t like tomatoes?” Hinata queried.

“No, I don’t,” I shrugged. “I can put some on yours though if you want.”

To prove my point, I reached back into the vegetable drawer and pulled out one of the large tomatoes which Sasuke had bought, “see?”

Hinata’s face broke out in a knowing smile and she chuckled. Puzzled by her reaction to a tomato, I crossed my arms, still holding the tomato in my hand. This only seemed to make Hinata giggle more.

“Alright, what is it Hina?”

“How, how many do you have in there, Sakura?” she asked, still chuckling.

“What? I don’t know, six?” I replied, looking into the vegetable drawer.

Hinata shook her head at me, smiling smugly. I shrugged my shoulders at her, resigning myself to not understanding whatever joke she was trying to make. I set the tomato on the side and began cutting up the lettuce, waiting for her to tell me if she wanted it or not.

Prepping the rest of the salad, I gave it a rinse under the tap before tossing it. Normally, I wouldn’t have bothered, but Hinata would have been appalled. Scooping the leaves and cucumber into two bowls I slathered mine in dressing.

“Do you want any?” I called over my shoulder, holding up the bottle of dressing.

Hinata politely declined, stating that she was on a diet.

“You don’t need to diet, Hina,” I sighed setting the bowl down in front of her.

She shrugged, picking up her fork and stabbing at the plain leaves. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of eating a plain salad. Pretty much the only way you could get me to eat one was if there was more dressing than leaves.

“Oh, I forgot! Did you want that tomato?” I asked, watching her crunch on a piece of pepper.

“No, thanks,” she declined. “I don’t really like them that much.”

“Yeah, they are pretty gross,” I agreed. “But Sasuke bought them so…” I shrugged, picking up my own fork and spearing a piece of dressing covered cucumber.

Hinata chuckled again.

“Alright, what is up with you? Since when were tomatoes funny?”

“It’s not tomatoes that are funny,” she explained, waving her fork at me. “It’s you.”

“Me?”

I had no clue what she was talking about.

“Sasuke, this and Sasuke that,” she teased. “You let him buy you tomatoes.”

“So? He’s our friend, Hina. I didn’t think it was weird to mention it,” I defended, my face growing hot. Was I being weird by mentioning him? I didn’t think so. “And I didn’t _let_ him buy me tomatoes. He just bought them.”

“You do know that Sasuke is the only one of our friends who actually likes tomatoes right?” Hinata pointed out, as if this fact was significant.

“So?”

“So, you let him buy you food that you don’t eat, none of the rest of us really eat. Just him.”

“Well he can eat them when he comes over next, I don’t see what the big deal is?” I was beginning to get tired of Hinata’s cryptic conversation. If she had a point, I didn’t get what the hell it was.

“You really don’t see where I’m going with this?”

“No, Hina, I’ve got no clue what you’re getting at.”

She laughed again, shaking her head, “then forget about it. It’s not important.”

 

* * *

 

 

After lunch, Hinata and I went back to the surgery to continue with work. It seemed that my worry about the three cancellations was unfounded as we had five walk-ins over the course of the afternoon. My relaxed afternoon, which I had been looking forward too, quickly turned into a rush to get through all my patients before six pm.

“Thanks for coming in, Mr Komatsu,” I smiled as I bid my final patient goodbye. “Please schedule a follow-up appointment with Hinata at the front desk and I’ll see you soon.”

My office door closed and I slumped in my chair. Stifling a yawn, I glanced at the clock. It was well past seven, I had run over by an hour. I made a mental note to limit the number of walk-ins I would do a day to two.

Shutting off my computer, I turned off my lamp and stepped out of my office. Leaning against the door, I watched as Hinata prepared to go home. She tidied the front desk a little before gathering her things.

“Sorry to keep you late, again,” I apologised. I was always scared that Hinata would grow tired of the long hours and want to return to her life as a lady of leisure. If she quit, I’d be lost.

“It’s alright,” she smiled, pulling on her coat. “I don’t mind.”

“I was thinking we should limit the number of walk-ins we do so we don’t have to stay open so late,” I suggested walking with her down to the front door.

“Hmm, yeah,” she agreed, though she seemed distracted.

“Hina, you okay?”

We came to a halt in the lobby of the building.

“Do you have a crush on Sasuke?” she asked suddenly.

I choked in surprise. It was clear that it had been dwelling on her mind for some time.

“Hina, what kind of question is that? We’re not in high school.”

“Just answer the question,” she demanded, crossing her arms.

I frowned. Hinata stared at me intensely, as if she was trying to read the answer on my face.

“I don’t have a crush on Sasuke,” I stated. My cheeks heated up involuntarily. I turned away from Hinata, pressing a hand to my face, willing the blush to go away. “Night, Hina.”

“Sakura!

Ignoring my friend, I walked quickly back up the stairs to the office. Annoyed that she had done nothing but hound me about Sasuke all day, I didn’t feel guilty for leaving her so abruptly. If anything, I had saved us both an argument.

Turning off the lights, I unlocked the stairs to the apartment and climbed up – eager to crash on the couch watching TV for a few hours.

Cobbling together a sandwich, I brought it over to the couch and turned on the television. I was ignoring my phone which flashed with each message of apology that Hinata sent me. I knew that I was overreacting, being childish even, but it still didn’t stop me from being annoyed. What irked me more was that I didn’t know why I felt so annoyed.

I didn’t have a crush on Sasuke. He was my good friend and, yes, we spent a lot of time together but I spent time with lots of my friends one on one. Sure, he had been there for me more times than I could count in the past few months and sure, there were times when even I thought the lines were getting blurry but…

Sighing, I tried to put it out of my head. It didn’t need to be thought about. Sasuke and I were friends. That was all.

* * *

**Sweetopia: That's right folks! I'M BACK!!**

**Been hella busy (and ill :( boo) the past couple of weeks, but I'm back now. I'm officially unemployed now too...so a lot of time to update, but also no money so :) but also  :(.**

**Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! It feels a little rough to me, but my outline for this one was like three lines long so I just had to wing it. Next chapter there will be a lil p.o.v change...only for one chapter tho... so stay tuned I guess.**

**Lemme know what you think!**

**(Also! I have a new story coming soon which I am super buzzed about! I finished the outline for it today and I'm going to be posting a chapter asap!!)**

**Love you all (you're amazing)**

**xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

Narrator p.o.v:

"So," Naruto sighed as he sat down across from Sasuke, drink in hand. The bar was quiet, but they had picked a spot right at the back - far away from the nearest patrons. "Rough day?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Every day was a rough day. Ending it by having a quiet drink with his best friend was a step in the right direction though. Taking a sip of his drink, Sasuke sighed deeply before responding.

"Hn, no. Not too bad. How was yours?"

"Quiet," Naruto nodded. Sasuke took that as a bad thing, Naruto hated a boring workday. "Are you getting food? I'm starving!"

Naruto left to order before Sasuke could even respond. The response would have been no, either way, so he didn't mind much. Since leaving Sakura's, Sasuke hadn't eaten a thing. His stomach had been in knots all day. Absentmindedly, he rubbed his thumb against his beer bottle, peeling the label and pushing it back again. He hardly even noticed when Naruto came back to the table.

"Hey?" Naruto waved a hand in front of his friends face. "Earth to Sasuke!"

"Hn?"

"hN?" Naruto mocked. Sasuke swatted his hand away. "I was talking to you."

"Sorry," Sasuke sighed. "I'm distracted…I can't stop thinking-" Sasuke stopped himself before he said something stupid. What he was about to say was that he couldn't stop thinking about Sakura. It was true, but there was no way he was going to admit that. To anyone. "Uh…I…have you seen Sakura's husband around today? I was thinking maybe we should file a restraining order."

"Ah…I get it," Naruto winked. Sasuke rolled his eyes again, feigning disinterest. "No, I haven't seen him. A couple of my guys saw him leave town last night, he's not been back."

Sasuke fought hard not to let his relief show. Chewing on his lip, Sasuke continued to peel the label on the bottle. Avoiding eye contact with Naruto, he simply nodded his head deciding it would be better if his friend didn't find out about the real reason for his interest in Sakura's divorce. Naruto was such a loudmouth that Sasuke did not doubt that he would tell Sakura before he even got a chance to figure out what he was feeling.

"Hn, that's alright then, I guess I can hold off on the restraining order."

"Yeah, I guess so."

They lapsed into silence. Sasuke watched Naruto across the table. He could see him trying to work something through in his head. Naruto was dying to say something, Sasuke could tell. It was only a matter of time before he blurted it out.

"So I hear you spent the night with Sakura."

There it was. Sasuke laughed defensively. He wondered how his friend had heard about that?

"Hn, no. How did you hear that?"

"Tenten told Ino that she saw you shopping together the morning after your date and that you were wearing the same clothes as the other day," Naruto grinned, bouncing his knee under the table excitedly. "So, how was it?"

" _How was it?_  Naruto. Nothing happened. It wasn't a date! I told you that before I went. I told you it was just dinner. Friends having dinner," Sasuke had begun to ramble. He was not a rambler by nature, but he was determined not to let the gossip spread any further. Otherwise, it would get back to Sakura. "You didn't tell anyone that it was a date, did you?"

Before Naruto could answer a waitress came over, a bowl of steaming noodles in her hand. She set it down on the table and walked briskly away, without a word. Naruto took this brief interruption to avoid Sasuke's line of questioning and rapidly began stuffing noodles into his mouth. He might have told a few people that it was a date.

"Naruto. Did you tell anyone that it was a date?" Sasuke repeated.

"Uhm…" Naruto shrugged, struggling to swallow a mouthful of burning hot noodle. "Uh let's see…you know, I think…I think I might have mentioned it to a couple of people. I mean, just Hina…"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his forehead. That was the worst thing he could have done, Sasuke thought. Hinata was Sakura's best friend. There was no way that Sakura hadn't heard about it.

"But I didn't say that you had a date with Sakura!" Naruto defended, knowing that his friend was annoyed. He could see the twitch in Sasuke's jaw. Somehow he was still annoyed.

"So, you told Hinata that I had a date, but not that I had a date with Sakura. So she told Tenten, but then Tenten saw me with Sakura and assumed that I had a date with her," Sasuke talked it through out loud, piecing it all together. "Sakura didn't get Tenten's joke and thought that I had an actual date that night but cancelled it to see her instead."

Sasuke let out a sigh of relief and took a long draught of his beer.

"What?" Naruto asked cluelessly, lifting another forkful of noodles to his lips.

"Hn, nothing. It doesn't matter. Forget about it."

"Well, alright. I still don't see how it wasn't a date though."

Sasuke groaned and launched into a tiresome conversation which spanned much of the next hour and still concluded with Naruto certain that he had been on at least one date with Sakura, if not more.

"It was dinner!" Sasuke snapped finally. "We're having dinner right now and this is definitely not a date."

"Well, technically,  _we're_  not having dinner. I'm eating noodles and you're drinking. And besides, it's not the same," Naruto shrugged, as far as he was concerned Sasuke and Sakura were dating, even if neither of them realised it yet. Though, he was beginning to wonder how two people could be so clueless. "You spent the night, Sasuke. It was a date."

"Hn, we didn't sleep together! She was upset, I stayed on her couch."

"Yeah, but would you have stayed the night if her husband hadn't shown up?"

Sasuke fell silent. He hadn't expected such an insightful question from the likes of Naruto. When did he become such a perceptive little shit?

"Hn, that's not relevant. On that occasion, I stayed because my  _friend,_  Sakura, was upset. What I would or would not have done if the situation was different had no bearing on the outcome," Sasuke floundered, resorting to the kind of wording that he had to use for his most guilty clientele.

Naruto grinned smugly and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms, "Sure."

"I don't have to take this, I'm going home."

"Awh, Sasuke c'mon!" Naruto shook his head, beckoning for his friend to sit back down. "I was just kidding around."

"Hn, whatever," Sasuke slumped back into his chair. He didn't like being outsmarted, most certainly not by Naruto. "Can we just stop talking about Sakura?"

"Hey, you're the one who mentions her every other sentence," Naruto provoked. He was enjoying the situation much more than his companion. It wasn't often that he got to see Sasuke so riled up. Even less often over a woman. Sure, Sasuke had dated before but it had never been serious…he had never had _feelings_.

Sasuke refused to answer, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle now that Naruto had gotten the idea into his head. It was much easier, and less incriminating, if he simply remained silent when it came to the topic of Sakura.

"Alright, I'll drop it," Naruto conceded after several long moments of silence. "But the minute you admit to yourself you like her, you come to me first. Do not do what I did with Hinata because, no offence, but you would not be able to pull it off."

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. Naruto was probably right.

* * *

 

When Naruto arrived home, he was surprised to find Hinata still awake. It was late, well past the time she typically fell asleep, but she was bustling around the kitchen when he walked through the door. It was the third night this week that she had stayed over and Naruto was beginning to become accustomed to her routine.

"You're up late," he noted as she poured a cup of herbal tea. Resting his hand on her back he leaned into to kiss her head.

"You were out late," she countered, picking up the cup and walking out of the kitchen, turning the light out on him.

"Touche," Naruto chuckled following her as she walked to the bedroom. "I was having a bite with Sasuke. Why aren't you asleep already?"

"I was thinking about something…"

"Well, that never does any good," Naruto laughed, already pulling off his clothes. He liked the faint pink that sprung onto Hinata's cheeks as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. She, of course, was already dressed for bed and slipped under the covers quickly. "What were you thinking about."

Hinata paused, taking a sip of her tea despite it scalding her tongue as she swallowed.

"You said that Sasuke had a date on Saturday night, but then today Sakura said that they had plans. Did you know that he was going over there? She said that he cooked dinner and then… _slept on her couch_ ," Hinata rarely used air quotes, but she couldn't stop herself. "I mean…do you think there's something going on?"

Naruto sighed, smiling softly as he climbed under the covers, of course, she had been up all night worrying about her friend. Sensing she hadn't finished, he waited patiently for her to continue.

"And then she invited me upstairs for lunch and he had bought her groceries. Groceries! A whole month worth pretty much, and not just that but a lot of tomatoes!"

"Tomatoes how scandalous," Naruto teased.

"Think about it Naruto," she placed the mug on the bedside table and turned to face him, her hand resting between them. Naruto fought the urge to kiss it, knowing that it wouldn't be a well-received gesture while she was so serious. "No one else likes tomatoes. He's planning on going back there again. I know it. She denies that there's anything going on, but I'm so sure that there is."

Hinata stared at him with concerned eyes and he couldn't help but brush the hair that fell in front of them out of the way. Naruto had been eager to talk about the situation and now it seemed that Hinata had come to the same conclusion on her own. Surely there would be no harm in mentioning the conversation he had just had with Sasuke.

"Hey, I agree with you here. Sasuke's adamant that there's nothing going on either, but it all seems very suspicious," Naruto agreed, relaying the details of his talk with Sasuke. "But you know Sasuke. He's too stubborn to do anything about it and Sakura's too dumb to notice."

The couple fell silent, staring at each other over the pillows. It seemed that they were both hatching the same thoughts. Something had to be done with their friends.

"I think they'd be good together," Hinata sighed, rolling over to stare at the ceiling. "I just want Sakura to be happy."

"Yeah and Sasuke really needs to get laid, at this point, it's just sad - ow!" Naruto was cut off as Hinata slapped his arm, unamused by his immature addition to their conversation. "Sorry. You're right. They would be good together, Sakura should be happy."

"Do you think we should just leave them to it?"

"If we do that it'll be years before they get together!"

"I know, but…Sakura is still technically married. She's in the middle of a divorce," Hinata reasoned, suddenly hesitant about meddling in their friend's romantic life. "And what if we're wrong?"

"Hina," Naruto wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close and leaning in to kiss her. "You worry too much."

* * *

 

****Sweetopia: Okay it's short and sweet. A little p.o.v change as I said there would be…not sure if I liked writing it like that, but hey we got a bit more insight into NaruHina which was nice to write. I hope you liked this chapter. I will be back to writing Sakura's p.o.v in the next. ****

****Would also like to mention that I have set up and Instagram for my fanfics (I'll be posting updates and inspo pics and stuff. If you guys have any fan art you've made or if you want to make some for my fics then send them to me and I'll post them too!) it's @sweetopiafics so please give me a follow. ****

****A little life update: I'm graduated, I'm healthy again (yay no more being ill hopefully!) my personal life is a bit of a mess with family issues, but I am getting there. I still don't have a job, but I am looking for one and I'm doing a bunch of volunteer work until I get something that pays, the struggles of being an artist ahahahah. I will try to update more frequently, but I know I promise this all the time and don't deliver so I'm sorry and thank you for staying with me! ****

****Lots of love for you guys! Let me know what you thought of this chapter!! Did you like the p.o.v change or were you not a fan? Thanks guys! ****

**Again follow me on Instagram @Sweetopiafics**

**xoxo**


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